TIME:
3 DAYS LATER
LOCATION:
HYPERSPACE
POV:
Richard Vrit
"Captain Runethari I would like to see you in the CIC."
I sigh in relief as the woman quickly leaves the room allowing me to take off the damn rebreather we've been forced to wear unless we want to be constantly on edge. She said she naturally excretes an anxiety inducing chemical but refused to go into why she had such a niche modification.
Nonetheless I take the chance to ask Temlic a question thats been on my mind since boarding this ship. "Hey Tem... I've been wondering what's your opinion of this vessel. It just feels wrong to me too sleek and clean, if this was truly a military vessel there should be signs of some use maybe a creaky joint here or the doors taking a moment too long to open, but none of that it looks fresh out of the drydocks. If anything it looks to be more a piece of art than a warship, but that is obviously not the case."
"I think you're onto something but the real question I am wondering is, where is the crew. So far we have only heard one other voice that seems to work on this ship you know, that feminine voice that just called for our security escort, but I have never seen anyone else walk around."
"Thats a good question, logic dictates that it may be an intact precursor AI but those are extremely rare to the point of probably being rumor or myth told by freelancers. If she has one onboard and piloting her ship then she's incredibly unimaginably lucky. That however leaves the question of who would be insane enough to leave something like that alone with someone who is so young. I feel sorry for whoever her commanding officer was."
Temlic looks up from his tablet suddenly, "There may actually be a lot of credence to your Ship AI idea. I remember back when she first showed up according to an informant we have in the station oversight and governance office. Well someone at the local government filed a complaint with the system lord that their ship wasn't handing over enough data and their backdoors they tried to install didn't work for even a moment. Fortunately the news that Miss Runethari exchanged a few sovra and coordinates to a system all at his station earned him enough prestige that me promising a small favor, was enough to make him not file any stronger complaints and demands to miss Runethari."
In the back of my mind I feel as if we may have dodged a bullet with that one, though how large or small that bullet was I will never know. "So found any similarities so far with any other known precursor ships?"
"Barely, the vessel's general design is similar to scout vessels of the crimson progenitors with their black and red color scheme and finely tapered hull with a flat face. Though the difference is what seems to be some sort of spinal weapon running through the center of the hull that is unknown though bears a resemblance to a quasirelativistic cannon on the few precursor battleships humanity owns.
"Really the only traits I can name for certain with confidence that despite it being the size of a medium destroyer it would've been classified as a corvette though just barely, the point defense turrets look to use multibarreled electromagnetic railguns which while it is starting to be introduced isn't wide spread, and the utility components are all Grade V, the shielding tower, you know the fin looking addition sitting on the back points to a Class V hybrid shielding device. There are multiple weapons hidden under paneling but I can't tell you what exactly those are. Though the only thing that really concerns me is the generator, no progenitor reactors were ever this loud. They were all described as quiet and near completely silent, it makes me wonder where all that noise and heat could've gone..."
I stare at Temlic trying to process all the information I suddenly got sprung on me. From what I can understand though this ship has a lot of unknowns—like most progenitor ships in that regard I guess.
I hear a door silently swish open, the only clue of that being a faintly perceptible rush of air. I look over to see Aria bounce into the room keeping her usual carefree attitude. 'I seriously cannot understand how she remains so relaxed on this vessel without the rebreathers we've been forced to wear.'
She stops when she notices us and quickly skips over with her usual inquisitive expression.
"What were you talking about with Dad, Uncle Tem?"
And despite being a supervisor for an interstellar multinational organization his usual stoic and serene expression melts into one of pure joy. 'I really wonder why he hasn't had a child of his own with how he acts around Aria, I've known him for a while and he was usually never this easy to trip up.'
"Oh, we were just talking about this vessel Aria. Say I noticed you've been talking to Miss Runethari, has she said anything about what additional features it also has?"
Despite his look never changing a slight twitch of his brow showed how he truly felt, he was scared and fearful—not that I can't say the same. Oddly Lilith has been surprisingly patient with Aria, indeed when those two are together Lilith seems to change, her usual tendencies for sadism and what I suspect is a severe case of narcissism seem to mostly disappear. If I had to say anything it's like she views Aria as almost an equal, but I personally suspect she's only patient and kind for some other more personal reason.
Aria is a genius and nearing an age where she would have to receive an education despite her lungs being injured and extremely sensitive. We should find someone willing to teach her soon, or else it might affect her future...
"Uh– she mentioned something about having a secondary medbay that is so amazing that it can even heal my lungs... though she said it will take a long time like 1 year..."
Temlic has a look of disbelief on his face that I am surely mirroring. Aria's lung condition has existed since she was an infant and had nearly killed her on multiple occasions. The best doctors my sister could find said it was possible to heal, but it would take years and cost hundreds of thousands of credits. My sister said she'd pay for it. However, I knew she would basically use her entire life savings and retirement fund, and I couldn't accept that... leading to me moving away.
My heart began to race as I asked a question not even sure the answer I wished to receive. "Did you ask if Miss Runethari would be willing to treat your lungs?"
She stops momentarily looking hesitant. "She said she would but she only wants to ask for a large favor, and she wants to have me work in her system for a few years."
I feel a frown tug at my lips but Aria quickly adds, "Though she said she would educate me personally using the simulation room onboard the vessel and even pay me a starting salary of 1,000Ʉ a month! Please Dad she said she won't even ask for anything unreasonable!"
I froze and stared at my daughter who looked like she was about to start crying. I try to articulate why she seems so insistent on this, but Temlic beat me to it.
"Why do you want to do this so badly? That would mean spending a lot of time away from home and your parents, and it's still going to take a few months before anything habitable is constructed in the system.
"Say lets just calm down and we can talk about this when she can properly house you. I mean it's not like a few months will change all that much."
The room seems to grow tense for a second as I know exactly what Aria is about to say and Temlic face seems to twist as he realizes a major flaw in his rushed argument. Aria despite being frail and physically weak has always been witty where it mattered most, it's almost scary how perceptive and mature she is for a child of her age. Moreover, she is smart enough to know how to act her age and be convincing to even me her parents, though she's never mean and manipulative with it.
"But uncle Temlic the treatment for my lungs will still take at least 10 months and if it turns out to be more difficult than expected, it will take a year. She even said she can allow me to start my education while being treated through something called a Mind Dive Interface. It'll even let me record messages and then she can send them to you while I'm being treated! Though she did say the Mind Dive Interface was something she found on the ship's fabricator and she's uncertain if it will be easy to install compared to the ones the ISCA sells, but she says from the specs that it is better than what is currently produced!
"I will only start working when I turn 16 which will also be when she thinks I will finish being taught. She can also make time go faster when I'm learning. She said it won't even hurt because the Mind Dive Interface will help me not get headaches!"
I raise my hand to stop Aria before she goes into a rant (lecture) about advanced alien technology and how much better it is. Though from the look on Temlic's face I can tell he already sees a money pile. I glare at him before he can get the chance to start his interrogation.
"Okay Aria your Mother and I will talk about it, did she mention anything else that might be important?"
Aria quickly responds saying that the offer will only be available for a month, that Aria will have to work for her till she is 20 standard years old. She would also sell the shared rights of the MDI to Temlic and the Vrit family and guarantee their safety and effectiveness.
I believed that more than I believed this was all Lilith doing it because she wanted to be nice. Progenitor technology no matter which of the two main progenitor races they came from was always safe and biocompatible with us humans. Though Crimson Progenitors were magnitudes more easy to use and comfortable than their Federal Precursor alternatives.
I groan that such a great offer has landed on my lap, Aria can be healed, receive an education, and get an amazing job that earns double what I do every month. The only price is a favor, frankly it almost sounds too good to be true. I hope Veranda can find a reason to deny this, Lilith has shown a total disregard for those around her and now suddenly gives such a generous offer for someone she only met in person about four days ago.
"Sigh I will talk to your Mom about it, don't get your hopes up though. Did she tell you what position she wanted to hire you for?" Aria nervously shakes her head and responds meekly that Lilith will decide after seeing what she excels in during her education.
I rub my brow and get up when Temlic asks where I'm going. I tell him that I need to speak to my wife. I didn't notice that while my back was turned that the Holo-table sitting in the center of the room became briefly fuzzy as a light blinked off, nor my daughter's look of triumph.
I only was concerned with how Veranda would view the situation, and how my sister would react to such a shady deal. I just prayed to whatever higher power might be out there hoping that Lilith doesn’t know, or that favor could go a long way.