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Salvage

Phase 1

A short story by Cole S. Kordus

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“Now I don’t know about you, but the so called ‘Homeworlds’ aren’t my home! Tycho is! Arkon-6 is! Not the Sol system! Not Earth!”

“The So Called ‘Rimworld Patriots’ Are Nothing More Than Spoiled Colonials Who Have Forgotten Their Place.”

“Taxes are raised and raised- while prices go up and up! They seek to force us into the slums!”

“Yet Another Terrorist Bombing From The So-Called Patriots Occurred Today…”

“The Homeworld Shield is turning peaceful protests into terrorist attacks!”

“Is Escalation Inevitable? General Linkin Says Yes.”

“We are not the Villains! We are not the ones shooting civilians!”

“The Rimworld Patriots Fired The First Shot Today: War Has Been Declared.”

“The Homeworld Shield initiated the War. To Arms!”

“Every Citizen Who Can Aid The War Effort Is Expected To Do Just That.”

“To arms! All to Arms! Drive back the Invaders!”

“Show The Terrorists That They Cannot Repel Justice!”

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MID-SPACE // 2105 // DATE: UNKNOWN // TIME: 0700 [GST] . . .

Erasmo T Contaño rubbed his sleeve against the somewhat grimy viewport of his ship

leaning to one side to get a better look at the wreck. The ship spun quickly in space, the

movement leftover from a twenty year old nuke that had detonated just under its main engine. It

was hard to tell from the floodlights, but the ship seemed military. Which meant weapons. Which

meant rations. Which meant survival- perhaps even some star charts.

He walked away from the window, squeezing down the narrow, cramped hallway that

was one of the four ways into the cockpit of his ship. Well, squeeze might be an exaggeration. It

was an easy fit for Erasmo, who could easily count most of his ribs, but it would definitely not be

a fit for any other person. Not, that there had been another human on his ship. Ever. Plenty of

monsters though- he always hated seeing them.

Indeed, Erasmo had not seen another human in over five years. He hadn’t talked with

anyone either. Since the Blackout, you could be considered lucky if you stumbled across a lone

straggler, let alone an entire settlement. But Erasmo was- and had always been- an optimist.

When confronted with the choice between taking an old Trans-Shuttle or being put in the

Quarantine Section, he had chosen the shuttle. This was odd, considering that it was oftentimes

used as a punishment. Then again, so was being moved to Quarantine.

“All because I had some ‘infectious disease’!” Erasmo exclaimed, to no one in particular.

This is a common occurrence.

“But ‘ol Erasmo managed to fix himself up good, yes he did.” He nodded pleasantly,

slipping through a mostly-functioning airlock and sitting down in the large chair that belonged to

the pilot. “What doesn’t kill ya makes ya stronger.” He muttered, flicking several switches. He

glanced over his shoulder and saw a pair of green eyes glowering at him. “Shaddup, you.”

The floodlights on his ship went into narrow-beam mode, brightly illuminating the

spinning hulk of a ship before him. Over the course of several dozen rotations, Erasmo managed

to pick out a name on the hull. Lazarus.

“Well, shit!” He exclaimed. “If that’s not a Shield Military ship, I’ll eat my boot!” He

chuckled. “Oh no, of course I wouldn’t actually do that. It’s just… an expression.” Erasmo

boosted his ship forward, modified engines flaring with bright yellow lights.

Erasmo had taken the shuttle over certain death. Instead, he had been faced with probable

death, and had chosen a random direction and set his engines to max. Ten days later, with

oxygen running low, he had come across an untethered space station, slowly but surely drifting

towards a moon. After landing on it, he had pilfered it for all maps, valuables, foodstuffs, and

information. Erasmo’s mother had been smart enough to teach him how to read. So when he

encountered the dry docks, all he had to do was read manuals on how to operate the equipment

there.

One week later, Erasmo had constructed a fairly decent ship for himself. It had three

additional engines, one from a bomber, the other two from large mining drones. He had welded

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stronger plating to his ship, boosted his scanner range, added a single missile pod, floodlights, an

escape pod, a cargo bay, and most importantly: an electromagnetic claw. The claw could attract

and grab onto things and draw them next to the cargo bay. Once something was near the cargo

bay, all he had to do was tug on an astrosuit and go out to get it.

“Shiny, shiny, simple, simple.” Erasmo activated the electromagnet and put it to max.

The spinning wreck began to drift towards him, slowing down almost imperceptibly. He

watched the ship come towards him and then braced for latch. There was a dull clang and his

ship began to spin with the wreck. Erasmo hit a button, and his shuttle’s onboard AI began to

compensate, firing thrusters to counter the spins. After a minute, both vessels came to a stop.

Erasmo leaned back from the controls and grinned.

“Thank you, very much!”

“Magnetic seal, complete.” His AI responded.

Erasmo stood. “Well, think I should go explore?”

“Caution: Hazardous materials detected.”

“That’s fine Mark. You know I live for danger!” Erasmo proclaimed, standing up.

“Primary directive: keep shuttle pilot alive. Secondary-”

“Shaddup Mark.”

Mark was not the actual name of the AI. The AI’s actual name was: The TS-55 Systems

Moderator and Regulator V 2.2.4. But Mark was a better name. Sadly, Mark was not good

conversation. And as the years dragged on, he began to repeat himself more and more. But

Erasmo didn’t really mind. He tended to repeat himself as well. And other visitors kept him on

his toes. He slid down the ladder leading to his cargo bay and pulled on his astrosuit, a skin-tight

one piece made from void-proof materials. It had no armor plating like the astrosuits of the

Blackout War, but there was no reason for having any. He pulled on the angular helmet and it

sealed with the rest of his suit with a faint hiss.

“Let’s d-d-d-do this!” He said to himself, mimicking a beat from one of his songs.

⍝

The Lazarus waited before him, gleaming under the glare from his floodlights. Erasmo

danced lazily across the metal surface, magnetized boots ensuring he wouldn’t float off into

space. He cued up some of his favorite salvaging music, having the ship broadcast it to his

helmet radio. He pulled up a scanner, and began scanning the ship.

“You can Revolt… yeah, yeah,” He hummed.

Erasmo found a de-pressurized section of the ship and began cutting into it, cutting a

large circle into the metal. When it was done, he picked up the orange edged disk with one boot,

and kicked out, deactivating that boot’s magnet. The disc spun off into space, fated to claim the

life of an innocent construction worker several hundred years later. Erasmo stepped into an

airlock and studied it for a moment. He could simply cut the door open or-

Suddenly, the control panel for the airlock flickered to life. He gave a jump and took a

step back- and that was when the airlock snapped shut behind him, sealing him in. Erasmo felt

his heartbeat quicken as air was pumped into the small chamber. He glanced at his scanner, and

it told him that the oxygen was breathable. Cautiously, he took off his helmet and inhaled. It was

stale and had a metal tang to it, but was otherwise fine.

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“This is completely normal, yes, yes.” He nodded. “Nothing unusual about the ship

coming back online, no! Most certainly not my visitors!”

The airlock in front of him opened. And something with a glowing red eye darted

towards him. Erasmo shrieked- and moving with surprising speed and skill- whipped out his

plasma cutter, jamming it in to the glowing red eye. The medical droid slammed into the metal

floor, sparks gushing from its broken eye. There was a pop and it stopped moving. Erasmo

slowly lowered the plasma cutter, breathing heavily.

“Tha-that was nothing. Silly drone! Stupid, sill-”

“How dare you!?” A deep, digitized voice boomed.

Erasmo flinched and took a step back. A figure slid into view. It looked akin to a

stickman, with a dark dray flexible cylinder for a torso and tentacles coming out where arms and

legs should be. A monitor displaying a red skull was placed where the head should be, metal fins

raised in aggression. Erasmo opened his mouth and closed it. He had only ever heard of military

robots before. He had never seen one up close.

“You killed my fellow robot brother! And for that you must die.” The skull flashed.

Erasmo numbly dropped the plasma cutter, convinced he was about to die.

The skull abruptly turned into a green face that smiled. “I’m just kidding, good sir! Come

on, give me five!” The robot snaked an arm out and up, wriggling metal fingers.

“Whaaathoo,” Erasmo managed, then fainted.

⍝

He was awakened several seconds later by a steady prodding. “Hey! Human! I’m not that

scary.”

Erasmo scrambled backwards and leaped to his feet. “Shit! Wow! I ah… wow! H-how

are you?”

“How am I?” The robot seemed bewildered and the fins along its head undulated. “Pretty

well I suppose. I’ve just spent the last decade in a deep sleep so… y’know.”

“Yeah.” Erasmo nodded, then shook his head. “Actually, no.”

“Uhoh.” The robot’s face changed to something that could be described as hesitant. “Hey,

you’re not…” it leaned forward. “Mentally handicapped, are you?”

“No, no,” Erasmo chuckled. “He thinks I’m weak-brained,” Erasmo suddenly grinned. “I

agree, quite ridiculous! I’m the sanest guy we know.”

“Uhoh.” The AI changed tactic and began to speak slowly and clearly. “I mean you no

harm. My name is Darwin.”

Erasmo, finally having recovered, let out a sigh of aggravation. “Listen here, I’m not

shitting stupid. What are you programmed to do, Darwin? Are you this ship’s AI?”

Darwin’s face was replaced with a frowning emoji. “I am not this ship’s AI. And I am

programmed to be me.”

“Be… you?” Erasmo frowned.

Suddenly, a flashing lightbulb appeared on Darwin’s face. “Human, is the war going on?

If not, what has happened?”

“The… oh, you mean the Blackout War.” Erasmo paused. “It’s been… twenty years I

think? Right?” He turned to his left and nodded. “Thereabouts yeah, yeah.” He turned back to

Darwin. “Yeah, so the war is over. B-but it’s called the Blackout War for a reason! The war

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ended with all of the worst weapons being unleashed on both sides. Sysnet went down. Relays

went down. Space stations, deserted. We’ve all been scattered.”

“We?”

“Humans.” Erasmo licked his lips. “The last time I talked with a person was… five years

ago…” His eyes grew glazed for a moment.

“Well, you can reset that counter now.” Darwin said dryly.

“Why? I haven’t talked with anyone.”

Darwin put a hand over his foot-wide cylinder and showed tears. “I’m wounded! By the

name, your name is…?”

“Oh, Uh, Erasmo.” Erasmo frowned. “And- no offense- but you’re not a person. You’re

fake.”

“Bollocks.” Darwin sighed. “Alright Erasmo, follow me. Or I shall hack your ship and

start the robo-revolution.” Erasmo fumbled for his plasma cutter, face pale. “Joking! Joking!”

Darwin said hurriedly, waving his hands in a calming fashion. “But seriously, follow me- you’ll

be interested.”

They made their way deeper into the ship. Erasmo studied the ship with wide eyes.

Computer terminals with frosted displays were crammed into every spare alcove. Large plasteel

barrels were neatly lined up in rows near what seemed to be a mass of copper wiring and

electronics with a hole in the center. Erasmo shivered. The Lazarus was turning into a regular

treasure trove.

And it would be his- providing he could get rid of this pesky ship AI.

“So, Erasmo. Your ship is a small one?”

“How’d you know?”

Darwin’s ‘head’ swiveled while his body continue to walk forward. “I hacked your

shipboard AI and downloaded all the available data. Do you really only have that TS-55?”

“Hey! That is a treasure!” Erasmo proclaimed. He had looted it off of a Patriot fighter

plane that had gotten stuck on some asteroids.

“Hah!” Darwin’s head swiveled back around. “Those things were used in microwaves.”

Erasmo frowned. “Hey wait a minute! How did you know I was here?”

“The Lazarus is equipped with an anti-matter engine- which is shot- but it also has a

backup battery with a 350 year lifetime- which is also shot- and solar panels. When I shut myself

down to conserve power, I told the sensors to wake me up along with all available systems when

someone boarded the ship.”

“Which is why we have G,” Erasmo said. “Duh, numnuts.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hmm?” Erasmo looked at Darwin. “What?”

Darwin shot Erasmo a look. “Nevermind…”

Erasmo studied the AI’s body with greater scrutiny. His arms and legs seemed to be made

up of bundles of thick cords that made no sound as Darwin moved. His torso was much the

same- except more rigid. The robot’s hand had three fingers, each one looking like tarnished

silver- and two thumbs that looked like copper. Darwin’s feet however, were made up of three

claws that clacked whenever they hit the floor- and looked like they could do damage.

“What happened to the people?”

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“Dead.” Darwin responded immediately. “Killed in the initial explosion, or by

decompression, or simply bad luck.”

“Bad luck?”

“Sadly, you will see what I mean.”

Erasmo paused for a moment. Did he really want to follow this strange robot? There was

really no other option. He really didn’t want to kill Darwin- despite being a robot, Erasmo was

already growing to like Darwin. They climbed up a ladder and walked down a hall. The

temperature grew colder and Erasmo’s breath began to cloud the air. Darwin touched a control

panel and with a groan, two doors slid apart.

A cloud of mist- or more accurately; a cloud of frozen water particles- spilled out into the

hallway, sending a shiver down Erasmo’s spine. Darwin proceeded forward, feet crunching

against small chucks of snow and ice that had formed on the floor. Erasmo followed him,

enthralled by his surroundings. The tech in here was clean, bright, and in perfect condition.

Darwin tilted his head and the main lights came on, further illuminating the area. Erasmo noticed

that what he had previously thought to be shiny bulkheads were in fact reflective glass windows

making up parts of strange tube-like devices. Most of them seem to be damaged, and Erasmo

thought he could see something… not good inside them.

“You may want to stand back,” Darwin said slowly.

“Why?”

“When Valkyrie wakes up, you do not want to be within reach.”

Erasmo still had no idea about what Darwin was talking about, but nonetheless, he

backed up to the far wall. The robot tapped a few things into a computer and paused for a

moment. There was a loud hiss that made Erasmo jump, then the glass sheet split apart and slid

to either side, sliding into the rest of the machine. A blast of steam rocketed out from the center,

and a figure became visible. Darwin leaned forward and began messing around with something.

Erasmo leaned forward, breath caught in his chest. It was a girl! No, a woman. She had a

shaved head with multiple pale red scars lacing it. She looked… buff. Really, really muscular.

Erasmo felt slightly self-conscious. She was wearing a pair of small skintight shorts and what

appeared to be a specialized bra. They had glowing blue lights on them. Her skin was pale and

covered in pale red scars. There were strange pieces of metal sticking out of her skin at various

points along her arms, legs, and neck. Her facial features were rough and sharp, and her pointed

nose looked like it had been broken many times (13, to be precise).

It was then that her eyes flew open- bloodshot eyes. She sat bolt upright, dark red irises

roaming the room, her pupils a narrow slash, like cats. Not, that Erasmo had ever seen a cat. Her

body jerked, and she doubled over, coughing violently. She followed that up by spitting multiple

times. She leaned back again, letting out a low groan.

“Damn nanobots,” She muttered. “I’ll never get used to them.”

“I told you a million times Val, those bots will filter out. Spitting doesn’t help.” Darwin

sounded relieved- but was masking it with irritation.

“Yeah, well-” The woman locked eyes with Erasmo, who took a step back in fear.

The woman leapt to her feet and stomped a foot. Immediately there was a far-off clatter,

followed by a distant rattling. The rattling continued for several seconds, quickly getting louder.

Then an air vent burst open and metal pieces flew out of it. They snapped on to the woman’s

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body, covering the strange metal bits that were poking out from her skin. They formed braces,

greaves, shin guards, and a strange neck-thing. A final piece attached to the top of her head. It

elongated, sliding down over her forehead and stopping at the end of her nose in a sharp point.

Erasmo nearly fainted again. The newly armored woman was standing battle-ready.

“Who are you!” It was a command, not a question.

Erasmo fainted again.

“Just… perfect.” Darwin groaned.

⍝

Erasmo woke up for the third time that cycle, after being roughly kicked in the side. He

gasped and rolled to his feet, groping for his plasma cutter. Unfortunately for Erasmo, the plasma

cutter was in the capable hands of Valkyrie (known by her two friends as Val). She tapped it

against her thigh in a slow, menacing beat.

“So who are you?”

“Erasmo! Just tell her what she wants! She won’t listen to me yet.” Darwin called from

several feet away.

“I-I-I’m Era-Eras-Eras-”

“Dumb name.” Val narrowed her eyes. “Sounds like a Patriot name to me.”

“P-patriot?” Erasmo scooted back. “Not you too! Ugh!” He slapped his head. “They

never know! Why is that?!” Val opened her mouth but for the first time in her life, she was cut

off. “There’s no more war Val-Ki-Ree.” Erasmo said her name slowly. “Nope, nope, nope!

Blackout, Blackout everywhere. No more Patriots, no more Shield. Gone! Gone! Gonegonego-”

“SHUT UP.” Val roared, sending the panicked Erasmo into silence. “Darwin! That true?”

“Erasmo’s correct.”

Val blinked rapidly and took a step back looking unsure. “I… Is this a trick? Have you

hacked Darwin?” She accused, glaring at Erasmo.

“Val.” Darwin grabbed her chin and turned her head to face his monitor. He flashed a

strange picture. “It’s me.”

Val’s shoulders slumped. “It’s… it’s really over?”

“Yes.” Darwin’s voice was quiet. “The two sides bombed each other into oblivion. Mass-

Transit Stations are down. Communications are down. No one is connected. Erasmo just

happened to stumble across us- a good thing too- we would have crashed into a moon.” Darwin

was correct- but that would have happened in another twenty years. He was trying to paint

Erasmo in a favorable light.

“We were saved by this kid?” Valkyrie asked incredulous.

“We are 16!” Erasmo exclaimed, nodding quickly. “Right you are, friend. 16, 16.”

“What?”

“He does that- ignore him.” Darwin squiggled an arm dismissively.

“We need to wake the others. Tell them about what’s happened, and figure out how to

reconnect to Sol. Then we can-” She stopped. “Darwin. What is it?”

“There… are no others.” Darwin glanced from side to side nervously.

Val blinked rapidly and her eye twitched. “The CFO? Ares? Hödr?”

“I’m sorry Valkyrie.” Darwin touched her hand. “They either died in the initial impact, or

shortly thereafter. Most of the Cryostasis pods crashed. They… never had a chance.”

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Val stood stock still for a moment, then suddenly punched the pod (otherwise known as a

cryostasis chamber) with such strength the metal dented. Lights reflected dully off of the armor

assembled around her. Erasmo slowly stood up and took a hesitant step forward. He was

incredibly confused about the entire situation, but he could see that the woman who had been

very frightening, was now in pain. He stood next to her and gingerly touched her shoulder. It was

cold.

“I, uh, I know… how it is… I lost everyone I know t-too.”

Val said nothing for a long moment. “Darwin. Get this runt out of here.”

Darwin flashed a sympathetic face before gently guiding Erasmo out of the room and

down to the first hall that they had come through. Erasmo sat down in a chair and stared at the

wall in front of him. It was all metal, except for a small section of it that had some sort of

decayed wood and a bunch of papers pinned to it.

“I… don’t understand.”

“Val is…” Darwin paused. “Tricky. She’s led a rough life, and this is a big change for

her. I hope it doesn’t take her too long…”

“No, I mean… how is there gravity?” Erasmo gestured around. “We’re in space.”

“I turned on the artificial gravity systems as soon as I woke up.” Darwin cocked his head.

“I thought you realized that earlier.”

“Nah- just hit me. An-an-and why do you seem like… you’re… real?”

“Real?”

“Yeah.” Erasmo turned to one side and covered his mouth. “I hope he doesn’t think he’s

people…” He gave a short laugh after that- then stopped, seeing a frowny face on Darwin’s

monitor. “He didn’t hear that…”

“I did.” Darwin crossed his arms- something that had little effect, due to how limp and

noodle-like they were. “And that’s because I am a person- and I know that I’m not a human. I am

a self-aware AI module stuck in this service-bot’s body. I have feelings, memories, and the best

set of hacking skills you could imagine. I’m bloody brilliant, if I do say so myself.”

“But… robot?” Erasmo held up his palms.

Darwin sighed. “I could tell from your databases that things were bad but this…” He

crouched down in front of Erasmo and pointed to himself. “I am a person, just like you. I am a

robot- unlike you. I have feelings, just like you.”

Erasmo’s head was spinning. “Is… Mark a person?”

Darwin scoffed. “That TS-55? Hell no! That’s barely more than a few lines of code and

some computer chips.”

“He… might have a point.” Erasmo said to himself. “Mark doesn’t really talk well…”

“Finally! A breakthrough!” Darwin began to walk backwards. “Stay right here for a

second.”

“OK.” Darwin clacked down the hallway. A minute later, there was a crash. “Shit.”

Erasmo said blandly, almost beyond the point of caring.

His entire world had been turned on its head- in a matter of minutes. There were robots

claiming to be people. There were super-scary bionic women who could kill him. There were

people he could talk to- and the Lazarus was full to the brim full of old weaponry and tech. He

rubbed his forehead and let out a low moan.

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“You’re right. I think I should just go… they would be fine! And then, we can just… fly

like we usually do. Yes, yes. That’s what we like.” Erasmo stood up and felt for his plasma

cutter. “Oh. Lady has that…” His eyes grew glazed. “No. Nono. Not good.”

“Oi! What did I tell you?” Darwin clacked back into view, brandishing some sort of

device. “I told you not to move! I hope you weren’t planning on leaving?”

“N-n-no!”

“Good. Because that’d be hard to do without your helmet.”

“Shit!” Erasmo hit his head. “Shit! Where is it! I need it to live! Where? Where?”

“Chill out bruv.” Darwin pointed the device at him and it lit up. “I stowed it somewhere

safe. You’ll get it back don’t you worry.”

“B-but-” A sudden sense of calm fell over Erasmo. “I hope you’re not planning on killing

me. That would be bad.”

“I’m not going to kill you.” Darwin paused. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” Erasmo licked his lips, frowning. “Actually… I feel better than I have in… in

years!”

“That’s… what I thought.” Darwin turned the device off and stepped towards him. “How

about now?”

“N-now?” Erasmo glanced around. “Why the good feels gone?” He turned to his left.

“Shhh! Dar-When might know!”

“Right.” Darwin abruptly wrapped a hand around Erasmo’s neck, holding him in place.

“Sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

Erasmo tried to talk, but before he could, the fins that were on Darwin’s head floated off

and formed a strange pointed thing. A bright white spark formed at the tip, then shot out and hit

Erasmo in the forehead. He let out a yelp of pain and staggered to one side, having been released.

Tears blurred his eyes and his entire head swam for a few seconds. But then… it all went away.

Erasmo straightened and whirled to face Darwin.

“What the hell was that?!”

“Just a quick shot of electricity- how do you feel?” Darwin took a step forward, hands

held up soothingly.

“Well my head hurts!” Erasmo rubbed at it, stopping suddenly. “But… everything’s

clearer now… what did you do to me?”

“So, ever since meeting you, I got the impression that something was… off. This body

doesn’t have the equipment to scan you, so, I picked up this.” Darwin brandished the device.

“An electron scanner.” Erasmo blinked in surprise. Why had he not known this earlier?

“Exactly! So, the human brain is nothing more than a collection of neural pathways

conducting electrical charges. After checking what the scanner was showing me with medical

databases, I saw that you had a form of psychosis- a birth defect in your brain. You must have

inherited it from one of your parents.”

Erasmo sat down heavily. It made sense to him. “Now… now that you mention it, I

remember being able to think… better. A while ago.” He rubbed his temple. “That… that’s part

of the reason they kicked me off Sali! I had an infection, yes, but they also thought that I had

some sort of… contagious brain disease!” Erasmo looked Darwin in the eyes- or, the closest he

could get. “How did… how did you fix me?”

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“I sent an electrical charge into your head, correcting your neural pathways.” Darwin

winked. “Electroshock therapy at its finest.”

“I… Thank you! So much!” Erasmo squeezed Darwin’s slender frame against him in a

bear-hug.

“Welcome!” Darwin took a step back and held up a finger. “But… before you go and

thank me… I have to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Erasmo frowned. He could sense a very bad catch coming up on him.

“Well… the catch is that this… isn’t permanent. What I did is like putting a band-aide

over a wound that needs stitches. I’ve maybe given you a few days of clarity. But when that

mental band-aide comes off... your psychosis will come back with a vengeance.”

“So… I’ll be worse off than before?” Darwin nodded. “Christ.” Erasmo sat down. “I…

Why do this to me if you’re only going to make me worse?”

“Aha!” Darwin rushed over to him. “Because I have a plan! I think I know how to get

you stitches- how to make you better permanently. All we need to do, is get Val on-board.”

Erasmo took a deep breath. His world was definitely changing. But now that he was free

of his mental handicaps, he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. And as he thought back

over the past years, he realized that part of the reason he had been so isolated was… himself. He

could recall an instance where he received a ping from a large cruiser, but had boosted away

from the ship into an ion nebula as fast as he could, convinced that he had met a demon. He

grasped Darwin’s metal hand firmly and was surprised by the amount of force Darwin could

exert.

“So. What do we do?”

Darwin flashed a smiley face.

⍝

Erasmo showed up at a door marked armory, after having been directed there by Darwin.

He was astonished at how… bright he felt. He was noticing more things, thinking clearly, and

actually understanding a lot of the things around him. Erasmo pressed a button near the door and

it slid open noiselessly. Val was sat on a long metal bench, now dressed in a combat skin and

cradling a strange looking gun. She glanced up.

“Great. You.”

“Yeah… sorry, about earlier.” Erasmo rubbed the back of his head. “I was feeling a bit…

shocked. Anyway, I wanted to get to know you.”

“Get to know me?”

“Yeah! What do you like? Where were you born? Have any family? Is there anything you

want to do?” He looked at her curiously.

Val stood up, and stared down at Erasmo. The combat skin was a dark black, but portions

of it were dark blue. The metal plates that had attracted to her in the cryostasis room were still

attached to her body. She leaned forward and Erasmo balked. He had forgotten how her eyes

were a dark, deep red.

“I like killing things. I was born in a tube. My family are the other weapons grown in

other tubes. And you don’t want to know what I’m thinking about doing.” Val gave a nasty

smile, displaying unusually sharp teeth.

“Hey, now,” Erasmo took a step back. “I’m just trying to be friendly.”

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“Well that’s not what I need!” Val snapped, surprisingly forceful. “I don’t need any new

friends.”

Erasmo paused. “I’m sorry.”

Val opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, turning away from him. “Just… leave me

alone.”

Erasmo debated about pushing her further, but Valkyrie was the scariest person he had

ever met, and the fact she was still holding a pistol worried him even more. Erasmo turned

around, pausing only to snag a backpack from a hanger near the door. Judging from the weight

of it, there was some useful stuff in it. He walked down the hallway, past a dark brown stain, and

slid down a ladder, landing with a thump. He came around a corner to see Darwin drop a large

crate near the airlock.

“How did it go?”

“Well… I’m pretty sure she threatened to kill me.”

“So it went well!” Darwin sounded surprised.

“Excuse me?” Erasmo raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“Well, to be fair, I didn’t expect you to come back at all.” Darwin shrugged. “So yeah. A

death threat is good.”

Erasmo narrowed his eyes. “You… you aren’t joking, are you?”

“Who knows?” Darwin snapped his fingers, as if suddenly remembering something. “Oh,

I got you a present! Door G-3. I’m going to go get Val, so be ready to leave.”

“Got it.”

Erasmo walked down the hallway and stood in front of the door. The white letter and

number was faded and scuffed. He pressed a button and it swished open. Laid out neatly on what

appeared to be a conference table was a drab green combat suit. Erasmo’s mouth watered. It was

light armor, with hardened nanoweave plates over the shoulders, chest, groin, legs, and forearms.

A life support system was attached, the helmet was capable of surviving a point blank gunshot or

plasmablast, and there appeared to be some hidden functions in the gloves.

Plus, it was vacuum ready.

“Hell. Yes.” Erasmo muttered.

He tore off his dumb astrosuit, and pulled on the badassness that was the Mars Industry

Combat Skin Mark 9 (MICSM 9, for short). Erasmo left the helmet off, rolling his shoulders and

moving about. The armor was very flexible, and he felt very powerful. He noticed that there was

actually an exosuit built in to the armor, increasing his strength. Erasmo made a fist and grinned,

which quickly turned into a yelp as a short, triangular plasma blade appeared. He unclenched his

hand and it vanished. He shook his head and smiled.

“So cool.”

He walked back out to the airlock, new helmet attached to his waist- the helmet collapsed

into a small cube when not being used. Val stood there uncomfortably, two duffels stuffed full of

gear at her feet. A drone the size of her head hovered next to her, a mottled pattern of blues. It let

out a bleep as Erasmo neared her.

“I had it identify you as a friend.” Darwin said.

“Which he isn’t.” Val said, shooting the robot a look.

“Well he did save us!”

13

“I bet he didn’t even know we were onboard.” Val looked at Erasmo with narrowed eyes.

“Well… that’s true. But!” Erasmo held up a finger. “I am offering myself as an ally. I

have a ship, I have star charts, and I know how to get to somewhere all of us want to go.” This

was where Darwin’s plan came into play.

“And what’s that?” Val asked mockingly. “A nice, warm planet where we can make an

honest living?”

“Nope. Pixiu Station: the most advanced Homeworld Shield medical facility around.”

Val’s eyes narrowed. “That’s classified. How did you find it?”

“I found coded coordinates to it in a wrecked Shield bomber. And I broke the code after

examining the data here.”

This, was an utter lie.

Val’s nose flared, as if smelling the BS in the air. “Why don’t I just get you to tell me,

and then I take your shuttle?”

“Val-” Darwin began, but she cut him off.

“No. I want to hear this.”

Erasmo flicked up a finger. “One, you don’t know how to fly my shuttle. Two, it has kill

switches installed that will render it useless.” This was actually true. “And three,” He made a fist

and the plasma blade flared to life. “I’ll put up a fight.”

Val said nothing for a long moment, then let out a barking laugh. “HA! You’ve got balls

kid.” And then, acting so quickly only Darwin could tell it was coming, she drew her pistol and

fired.

Erasmo was sent to the floor, laser guided bullet hitting him dead on. He stared up at the

ceiling, blinking slowly. The gunshot had not been loud- a small little thwip- but it certainly hurt

like hell. He slowly sat up, shoulder already bruised. Darwin was yelling at Val, who wasn’t

saying anything in response.

“What is wrong with you?” Erasmo screamed, shutting up Darwin.

“A lot, actually.” Val holstered the gun. “Don’t worry. I hit your armor. You’ll only get a

bruise. And I shot you to teach you a lesson.” She walked forward and leaned over him. “Never.

Threaten me again. Ever. Next time, I will splatter your brains on the wall.”

Erasmo nodded slowly.

Val extended a hand and pulled him to his feet. “I like you a helluvalot more than that

sniveling wreck that was with me when I woke up.”

“Thanks…” Erasmo rubbed his shoulder. “So are we friends yet?”

Val snorted.

“Thought so.” Erasmo said dejectedly. He bounced back. “Anyway, there’s a better body

there for Darwin, a cure for me, and a chance for you to find one of your friends- or reconnect

with what’s left of Homeworld Shield.”

Val sighed. “Darwin. Next time you have an idea, just say it yourself.”

The AI made a strange face. “Eh. I want you to like the kid. I like the kid.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Yeah well getting the kid to spout off your plan won’t do that.” Val said, arms crossed.

“I’m not a kid.”

“Well how else am I going to get you to like the kid?!”

14

“For the love of-” Erasmo threw up his arms. “That’s it! I’m taking my backpack, and

whatever’s in this crate to my ship. You two can come if you want, but really there’s no

obligation to do that.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and picked up the crate. “See

ya!”

Erasmo vanished from view as the airlock shut with a hiss.

“See? Bloody hilarious.”

“Darwin.”

“Yes?”

“I will break you.”

⍝

Erasmo sat down in the pilot’s chair of his shuttle. He had already stowed the crate in the

cargo hold and had rifled through the backpack’s contents. To his delight, he had found some

sort of collapsible plasma gun, a small pistol, and several other gadgets that looked as if they

could do some nasty stuff. He gripped the accelerator excitedly. This was it. For the first time in

years, he had direction. And a potential cure to his mental psychosis.

“Things are definitely looking up.”

“Oh, please tell me you’re not talking to yourself again,” Darwin said, sitting down

behind Erasmo. “Shocking you again could be bad.”

“I’m fine!” Erasmo turned to look at the AI. “I am just… happy.”

“How wonderful,” Val said sarcastically, slipping into the other unoccupied seat. “Let’s

all hug.”

Erasmo rolled his eyes and looked out the window at the Lazarus. He deftly detached

from the ship and pulled away, so that the old military cruiser became a small blip of gray

against the black. He spun the ship away from the Lazarus and turned to face Val and Darwin.

Erasmo tried to hold back a grin but failed.

“Well? Any last words to your old ship?”

“Lazarus; you were an effective warship and transport of human crewmembers.” Darwin

held a hand over his chest. “Except for the part where you were hit by several tactical nukes and

shut down, killing most everyone aboard.”

“Erasmo your ship is a piece of shit.” Val said, glancing behind her. “I swear to God, I

think there was a window back there held in place by nanotape.”

Erasmo turned back to the main window, unable to stop his grin from widening. He could

get used to this. A 16 year old pilot, a self-aware AI, and a genetically modified woman who had

served as a living weapon. Yup, thought Erasmo. This is going to be great.

“And off we go!” Erasmo proclaimed, pushing the thrusters to the max.

There was a rattling and then the shuttle accelerated towards a distant system, carrying

with it the most unusual set of passengers to have ever ridden a Trans-Shuttle.