ShipCore

Book 5: Chapter 215: Expedition

Alex set her empty cocoa mug into the cleaning receptacle in her quarters. It had been a gift from the Iron Horse’s crew, but more importantly it was oversized and could hold a lot of nice, sweet liquid when she wanted.

The device hummed softly as the turntable inside spun, a little light indicating that the device was locked safely. The sonic and UV shower would leave it sparkly clean for its next use. She could have used her nanites, but this felt a bit more… normal.

She turned toward the mirror over her small kitchenette’s sink. The captain’s bars on her collar caught her eye as she adjusted her uniform’s navy blue blazer. A twinge of unease rippled through her. Those bars represented years of hard-earned experience that she’d simply bypassed.

Her HUD flashed yellow. Nearly late. Except…

Captains arrive precisely when they mean to.

There was no late.

Unless they were meeting with someone higher on the rank chart. But on the Hackjob, she was technically the highest ranking officer in the cobbled together mix of Iron Horse military company mercs and their naval counterparts from Meltisar’s navy.

As Alex headed for the door, she called up a holographic display of the Hackjob’s systems. All green.

A note from Thea popped up. “Miracle complete! Wormhole drive operational.”

So. Things were normal.

It was time.

Finally. She was ready to go.

Tia’s last message detailing the continued fallout from the Admiralty coup and political upheaval had made her sure of that.

Among certain other personal reasons. She avoided a wince. Didn’t want to touch that. She’d come to terms with it, but it was still raw. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to have made working with Captain Turner awkward.

Alex smoothed her uniform, fingers lingering on the captain’s bars, and then stepped out of her quarters, the door hissing shut behind her. The Hackjob’s corridors were cleaned and sterile. Almost eerily empty. It reminded her of the Tears after she had rebuilt the corvette.

Her footsteps echoed. They were running the moonlet on a skeleton crew pretty much, but not entirely empty.

A pair of sailors rounded the corner, snapping crisp salutes as they passed. Alex nodded, returning the gesture. Their faces were unfamiliar—Iron Horse crew, most likely. The Alacrity wasn’t going to be docked inside the moonlet’s primary hangar for traversal.

The crews would be cycling through the Hackjob’s more spacious accommodations periodically when operations allowed. There was more than enough space on the moonlet, and having essentially a station to provide R&R was going to be important, considering the extended duration of their mission.

The route to CIC felt longer than it should, winding through sections clearly designed for far more personnel.

As she walked, Alex’s mind drifted to the sheer audacity of their current situation. A moonlet-turned-starship, crewed by a mishmash of naval personnel, mercenaries, Thea, Elis and... whatever category she fell into now.

Captain. NAI. Omega?

Nameless didn’t comment on the thought.

She shook her head, pushing the thoughts aside. There’d be time for existential crises later. Right now, she had a job to do.

The door to the CIC opened with an electric hum and she entered without a pause, her eyes adjusting to the dim red lighting. The buzz of activity filled the air as engineers manned their stations, fingers flying over consoles. Thea stood at the command dais, overseeing the operations in her very modified version of a naval regulation skinsuit and some type of spy outfit.

Obviously engineered to make professionals uncomfortable due to the way it showed off her… assets. Or maybe it was so she could move around freely and fight in it. Although as a Chi NAI it would be fairly simple to absorb one’s clothing and change it to suit the situation…

Alex let out a little breath and Thea turned and flashed her a grin.

Alex fought the urge to roll her eyes. “XO, are things ready for wormhole activation?”

Their deal gave Thea a great deal of freedom to do as she wanted, so there was no reprimanding her for doing just that. It was nice that she wanted to help with the operation and go with her, although Alex suspected that might have more to do with Elis coming along than any genuine desire to maintain and operate the moonlet.

Thea nodded. “Aye, Captain, ready to get out of here?”

Alex winced. “As long as we don’t paste ourselves or suck out the sun again.”

Thea’s laughter echoed through the CIC. “This time we aren’t trying to jerry-rig a miracle on a tight schedule, so it should be fine.”

[Informative: Thea’s Hackjob—all systems nominal, no irregularities detected.]

Nameless’s voice was devoid of its usual nuance. Alex kept her face neutral. The flat tone bothered her more than she cared to admit. Was he still angry at her? Or had the strain of managing Meltisar’s digital landscape taken its toll?

Why was she the only one who couldn’t get straight answers from her MainComputer?

Her thoughts drifted to Tia and the weight she now carried. If Nameless was struggling, how well would Tia hold out on Meltisar? Even with Livi’s support, the strain had been evident in her eyes. Running system-wide surveillance and keeping the infrastructure running was taxing for any one entity… which was why sub-cores existed.

Except that was essentially slavery due to the way NAI creation and sub-cores operated on authority routines.

A wave of guilt hit Alex. She was running away. There was no denying it. Tia had tried to hide her reaction at the betrayal, but hadn’t managed it. But…

It was just too much.

And the mission. The mission was clear, and needed—secure help and resources for Meltsiar. Alex took a deep breath, centering herself. She’d make it happen, no matter what.

She was not abandoning her friend.

Just getting some breathing room.

Movement caught her eye as Elis entered the CIC, making her way towards them.

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“Is it time?” Elis asked, her voice tinged with anticipation.

Alex nodded. “Nameless, open a channel to MIL-1A FHQ.”

[Informative: Connection established, channel open.]

Tia’s face materialized on the CIC’s main screen, her silver hair and blue eyes totally neutral. Behind her, the bustling activity of Meltisar’s primary flag bridge came into focus. Admiral Westlake stepped into view, his face a mask of professional calm.

The weight of dozens of eyes turned toward and pressed in on Alex. Officers paused in their work, attention drawn to the unfolding scene. Thea cleared her throat.

Tia’s voice cut through the tension. “Is everything ready, Alex?”

Alex nodded, her spine straightening imperceptibly. “We’re prepared for departure.”

Westlake cleared his throat. “I’ve confirmed with Captain Turner. The Alacrity is fully prepped and ready for transit.”

A flicker of... something... passed across the admiral’s face. Concern? Doubt?

“Remember,” Westlake continued, his tone carefully neutral, “while the Alacrity and Captain Turner are under your command, they are to be used in a support capacity only.”

“Understood, sir.” The words tasted hollow on Alex’s tongue.

She knew the truth behind his presence. A watchdog. Insurance against the unthinkable—her absconding with a moonlet-turned-warship, abandoning Meltisar to its fate.

The irony wasn’t lost on her. After everything they’d been through, a part of them still didn’t trust her. Not completely. Yet if that was what she wanted to do, then she could do it with a simple thought and order to Nameless.

They knew that.

So maybe she was reading that wrong.

She wasn’t going to abscond, though. She’d meant every word of her promise to Tia. The mission wasn’t about running away—she repeated the thought to herself, again.

It was about securing a future for all of them.

Alex’s gaze swept across the CIC, taking in the mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Elis caught her eye, offering a subtle nod of encouragement.

“We’re ready to initiate wormhole drive startup sequence,” Thea said.

Alex watched as Tia’s image flickered on the viewscreen, her expression softening slightly.

“You’re clear for departure,” Tia said. “Good luck out there.”

A lump formed in Alex’s throat. Despite everything, leaving felt... wrong. But… needed. Ugh. Why couldn’t she just stop being an emotional wreck?

“We’ll be back,” Alex promised. “On schedule, if all goes well.”

The call ended, leaving her staring at her own reflection on the blank holo-screen. The weight of responsibility settled heavily on her shoulders.

Thea’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Coordinates are locked for our first jump. Quarter light-year toward Nu Crateris.”

Elis frowned. “Don’t we have way more range than that?”

“In-system tests went fine,” Thea explained, “but if our first out-system jump goes sideways, it’ll be a long ride back. Our sub-light drives max out around point-seven c, unless we fancy atomizing ourselves on some stray space dust. That’s a cryo-chamber nap for you, and a very long vacation for me and Alex.”

Alex nodded. “Let’s make it happen.”

She watched as Thea brought up their projected course on the CIC’s main screen. Twenty jumps to Nu Crateris. The wormhole drive’s quirks were apparent—distances between systems didn’t quite match up to what they’d expect from jump lane travel.

Nu Crateris and 92 Pegasi sat at nearly equal distances from Meltisar, in opposite directions. Thankfully, they’d outfitted the Hackjob with standard FTL systems as a backup. For when—not if—they needed them.

Twenty wormhole jumps. Ten days, minimum. Pushing beyond two jumps per day risked overtaxing the moonlet’s systems. Even with their conservative estimates, delays for repairs and adjustments seemed inevitable.

A chill ran down Alex’s spine. For once, Nameless hadn’t provided a flawless system. That was… unsettling.

Unbidden, memories of the Entity’s last moments surfaced. The certainty with which it had opened a portal to its own demise—to Alex’s birthplace. If had possessed such control, why did their own design feel so... imprecise?

“Alex?”

She blinked, suddenly aware of the expectant faces turned toward her. Elis’s brow was furrowed with concern.

Alex straightened, pushing her doubts aside. “Commence wormhole jump.”

Thea nodded and waved her hand. Lights on the console lit up. Engineers began to make call-outs.

Alex felt the rumble of power coursing through the moonlet, vibrations reaching her feet in the CIC. Her heightened senses picked up fragments of data streaming between Thea and her sub-cores, but she resisted the urge to eavesdrop. Authority didn’t grant her the right to invade their privacy.

Still, a flicker of unease settled in her chest. The creation of new NAIs, even sub-cores like Engi and Wormy, raised uncomfortable questions.

She didn’t have any room to judge, considering what she had done with the smart munitions... Alex pushed the thought aside. They’d had no choice. She had no choice.

And without Thea’s quick thinking, they might all be dead.

“Good?” she asked, meeting the other NAI’s eyes.

Thea nodded. The main screen lit up with a progress bar that filled and blinked green. On a side display, a 3D map showed the event horizon forming, tearing a slit in the fabric of space itself.

A comm chime broke the silence. Commander Talbott’s voice crackled through, “Iron Horse secured and ready for traversal.”

Moments later, Captain Turner’s steady tone followed. “Alacrity reporting ready, flanking position secured.”

Alex’s gaze swept over the CIC, taking in the mix of anticipation and nervousness on the crew’s faces. This was it. The point of no return.

Thea’s voice cut through her thoughts, “Engi, engage sub-light.”

The deck thrummed beneath them as the moonlet’s linear drives fired up. Alex’s stomach lurched as they pushed into the wormhole. For a heartbeat, reality seemed to bend—

Then they were through.

The star field on the viewscreen flickered into something new, Meltisar now a distant pinprick. Alacrity’s sleek form glided into view, maintaining its flanking position.

Alex watched as Thea expertly manipulated the controls with her mind, collapsing the wormhole behind them. The event horizon winked out of existence.

A quick glance at the system status panel showed all indicators remaining green. Alex allowed herself a small breath of relief.

[Notice: Successful traversal completed. No out of line parameters detected.]

Alex nodded, more to herself than anyone else. One jump down. Nineteen more to go.

Thea’s shoulders seemed to relax, too. “I’ll begin a full system diagnostic, but things look good so far. Astrogation puts us within a few kilometers of our predicted exit point.”

That was great. A few kilometers off at a quarter LY meant they’d probably be within a few hundred thousand at their max range. Their cobbled-together wormhole drive had performed admirably. Still, she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that they were pushing their luck.

Her gaze shifted to Elis, standing tall in her Federation Marine uniform. The sight of her sister, ready for action, brought a measure of comfort. They’d faced impossible odds before and come out on top.

“We should go talk to the ground team,” Alex said, her tone carrying the weight of command despite the familiar audience.

Elis nodded. “Good idea. Considering we might find a Corpo or Solarian occupation waiting for us.”

Alex winced. She would hope for a smoother reentry to Nu Crateris, but they couldn’t afford to be naïve.

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