EG 3 Ch 24 (Patreon)

"Yes?" Lily said, scowling, as a little digital Aikari appeared on her shoulder.

"You know, the captain's always far happier to see me." Aikari told her.

Lily scowled at her. She already had one companion on this trip. She didn't need another.

Pip started squealing in delight. "Pip pip!" as he swam around Aikari and thus around Lily's head. He had already hit her once when he hadn’t expected her to start moving and it was like running her face into a wall. For such a small body he had a large amount of mass.

"At least Pip likes me." Aikari fluffed her imaginary tails.

"I assume you're here because the captain grew tired of you," Lily said.

"No, I came because the captain gave me a job to do." The AI stuck her nose in the air and crossed her arms.

Lily paused and waited, scooping more of her mycelial network out of the duffel bag she had brought before dropping it on another sleeping Kikai. The black spongy network burbled and then dug into the body before beginning to digest it. Once it was done, it would turn itself into a small, mindless blob that would simply worm its way back to the Griffin for her main body to absorb.

The AI looked down at her work with a grim smile. "You know, for as much shit as I could give you organics, you are very efficient."

"Job," Lily reminded the little AI, feeling irritable. Neither her main body nor this one had the captain within their sights, and she found herself growing increasingly anxious.

"Geez," Aikari huffed. "Well, if you must know, the captain informed me that we might have some solid Pip food on the station. Melgara and Minnie suggested that we should give him some of a neutron core to eat, and while we certainly can't feed him the one on the Griffin—" the AI began, but Lily was already a step ahead.

"There's likely a core here on the station, as well as plenty of other highly energetic materials. There might even be a fusion reactor here and its materials." Lily concluded.

"Bingo!" Aikari shot finger guns at Lily before she jumped on Pip.

The little leviton jumped in surprise and started bucking. The hologram didn't weigh anything, but the leviton clearly did not like having something on his back. He began to squirm and swim around anxiously. Meanwhile, Aikari's hologram suddenly produced a wide-brimmed brown hat on her head as she let out a loud whoop and appeared to be holding onto the leviton.

Lily frowned at her antics, but then was curious about the hat. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Aikari held it out proudly. "It's a cowboy hat."

Lily tilted her head. "And what's the purpose of a cowboy hat?"

"It keeps the sun out of your eyes from all directions." The AI spun it around on her head, even as Pip continued to try and buck her off.

"And why do you have it?" Lily asked.

"No reason." The AI tossed it into the air and it vanished. "Melgara has been having me look up a bunch of weird esoteric human histories. She said it's because the captain's family likes to have a bunch of old historic relics, and maybe he would feel a little more comfortable if we brought a few back to him."

Lily's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Melgara is trying to comfort the captain." Her voice turned into a low rumble. To think even Melgara would interject herself into the captain's life without her knowledge was unacceptable. Perhaps by accepting Violet, she had opened the proverbial doors to this. Lily was going to have to be careful lest others get strange ideas.

The captain was hers, and while she might be accepting that he wasn't hers alone forever, she was determined to only include those who would be staunch allies in Lily's cause of keeping the captain safe. And while a medical professional might make sense to some, Melgara was already pushing for more experiments on the captain's genetic material, and Lily was not sure that such practices were good for everyone involved.

"And what do you get out of helping Pip?" Lily asked, only for the little AI to gasp.

"That is quite rude. Who says I'm getting anything from this?"

"Anyone with a lick of sense who has met you for more than a few minutes," Lily replied, and the AI popped off of Pip, only to appear in front of Lily, pouting and twiddling her thumbs.

"Well, we may have found some advanced processing cores. And the captain thought they would be good motivation." The AI said the last part while peeking up at Lily with her lips puckered together in a pout that had absolutely no effect on the helivore.

"Understood. You are being rewarded for providing something of value," Lily said. "Motivation is important to ensure everybody continues to operate at their most performant. The captain is wise."

"If the ship was led by someone like you, it would not end well." The AI snorted.

Lily paused and stared at the AI. "It would not. Which is why the captain's survival is paramount." She realized that if the AI had control of the station, then it was also watching the captain. "Do you have eyes on my captain?" Lily asked.

"Duh. Eyes all over the station." She twirled her fingers. "Except for the bathrooms. Well, wait, I have eyes on one of the bathrooms here. God damn it, what pervert has filled this place with indecent videos?" The AI covered her eyes. "My pure eyes, they've been defiled."

Lily paused, saying nothing, finding that not interacting with the AI's incessant need to make jokes was the best way of getting her to move on to the point. Which, of course, worked wonderfully. The AI paused in her antics, uncovered her eyes, and sighed.

"Fine, you want me to be your little spy on the captain?" the AI asked, and rubbed her fingers together. "I wouldn't mind helping you, for a little favor in turn."

"I will inform the captain that you have been helpful on this mission."

The AI slumped, mouth open wide. "That's it?"

"Unless you can somehow find a way to perform above and beyond my expectations, that is all I offer," Lily said sharply.

"Fine. Here are the locations of the neutron cores." An image appeared in front of Lily creating a map of the station.

"Though we should probably do this task last, because the station is going to go completely offline once Pip starts taking a bite of them." Aikari stated.

Lily nodded. Their crew was currently a parasite upon the station, and until they got what they needed, a parasite didn't kill its host until its reproduction was secured. "They will be reserved for last."

"Oh goody," the AI said, with what Lily believed was sarcasm. "Well then, off to my next job." The AI jumped up straight and slapped a salute to her forehead before disappearing after an awkward pause.

Lily turned to Pip, who was spinning around looking for a projection to leap on his back. "Do not worry, Pip. She is gone. Though sadly not for good."

Despite the AI’s shortcomings, if Lily could turn her into an ally for keeping the captain safe, perhaps she could suffer through. After all, the AI did have a vast ability to overlook the captain in a variety of situations. Not to mention, the captain did seem to find the AI at least marginally amusing, which meant he was more likely to let it stick around. Lily would have to explore options later to ensure the AI was fully converted to keeping the captain safe and his well-being at the top of her priorities.

***

I threw parts over my shoulder as I quickly went through many of the various equipment rooms and supply closets, trying to decide what was worth nabbing and what wasn’t. After all, it wasn't every day we got the chance to loot an entire station. Even with what I had learned working on the Griffin from Brick, I still found many items that were completely unknown to me.

"Captain, look!" Violet pranced into the room, holding with her a very ornate bottle.

"What's that?" I asked, not paying it much attention and going back to my sorting.

Violet was clearly disappointed by my lack of reaction. "It's probably the single most expensive wine in this space of the galaxy."

I perked up at that. "How expensive?" I asked, perhaps a touch too quickly.

"Exorbitantly so." Violet held it aloft. "My master used to have a few bottles she always kept on hand."

"Not so expensive if she could have spares," I reevaluated how rare it was.

"Yes and no," she said, tipping the bottle back and forth while thinking, before plopping down on a bench next to me. "Besides, I was getting pretty bored watching you dig through spare parts. Compared to those, this is quite the haul." She sloshed it back and forth again.

"Then save it to use for celebration when we get back," I said with a smile. "We'll certainly deserve a moment."

Violet bounced to her feet. "Of course, that's a perfect idea."

"Well, you can claim it for yourself if you wish. I'm just elbow deep in parts, only half knowing what I should bring back. Do you have an update on Brick or the others?"

"Tiri is pretty excited about some of what they found," Violet said, sounding unsure of it herself.

"But?" I nudged for her to continue.

"Lily's done with her job. And I'm done with mine. Weirdly, this was all just a little too easy." She said the words and flinched.

"Don't jinx us. Besides, it's only too easy because we are cheating. Most people don't do heists with a helivore, a divine, and an ancient dragon helping them out along the way." I told her.

Violet bobbed her head in agreement. "Still, everyone unconscious does feel a little bit like I'm not fighting with honor. If that were true, then I'm no better than that bitch I complained about."

"Well, forgive me if I'm willing to fight a little dirty against such a massive threat as the Unity," I said. "Though when it actually comes down to fighting the divines, I'll let you get a swing or two in."

Violet nodded in some agreement with my statement. "I'm going to hold you to that." She popped off the ledge with the drink in hand. "Is this crate all going back onto the Griffin?" She pointed to one of my piles I'd been sorting items into.

"Yeah, I think that's the ‘keep’ pile. It's mostly food printer spare parts, at least most of those I can recognize." I told her. I'd dug around the guts of ours on more than one occasion.

She hoisted up the box of metal parts as if it weighed nothing and started walking out with them.

A moment later, my communicator chirped. "Captain, we have identified a vessel entering the space around the station." Melgara coming through the device.

I closed my eyes in a silent curse. "ETA?" I asked.

"We have about fifteen minutes," Melgara paused. "They're hailing me."

"Buy us just a little time. We're going to wrap up here." I tapped the communicator. "Everyone, we've got company. This is the last call before we sic Pip on the station."

"Roger, Captain," Lily said, and I could hear a "Pip pip" in the background. The little guy sounded quite excited about having a leviton parts buffet coming soon.

"We've only got about half of this moved, Captain," Brick reported.

"And that's the only half you're going to get," I said. "Figure out what's most important and move it in the next ten minutes. Melgara is going to stall for what time she can, but as soon as her time is up, we need to get the Griffin out and very far from here. Melgara is not going to be able to deal with another ship if it starts firing on her, especially without a crew. We need to get out there to support her."

"If you'd like, we can use the station," Aikari said with a grin. "Lure them close enough and I can chew them up with the station's mounted defenses."

"How close do you need them?" I asked. It was a better option than trying to skeleton-crew two ships.

"Pretty close," she said. "Especially if I'm going to need to finish the job before they get out of range, and I assume they will move as soon as I start firing."

I nodded in understanding and tapped my communicator again. "Melgara, lure them in as close as you can. Aikari is going to use the station."

"Well, that's good," Melgara said. "They're definitely outside my class."

I frowned. "How big are we talking?"

"Lower end of a battleship," she stated, and I could hear the wince.

"Okay. Don't worry, we've got a station versus a battleship. Everyone stay calm."

"I am calm," Melgara sounded unconcerned with her potential mortality.

"Lily, belay the order to eat the cores. I think we're going to have to hold off until after we get a good shot with the station." I told her.

"You heard him, Pip." Lily's voice came over the communicator. "No eating yet."

I could hear the little leviton squirming in the background.

"Don't worry, we'll be able to snack all you want in the future, little guy. We just need to get out of the present situation."

Lily grumbled in the background of our comms, clearly at the edge of her patience. That was fair. Not long ago, Lily and Pip would have been at each other's throats for even a minor issue.

***

Melgara's hands fluttered for just a moment as she accepted the call from the battleship that was coming at the space station.

"Hello." The voice paused, and clearly the comms officer was not expecting a Stellari at the helm of a Kikai military vessel. "There seems to be something wrong with the station."

"Yes," Melgara hesitated. If they were to take on a battleship, any of their options would require bringing the ship in close, whether it was Violet or Lily getting aboard them. A boarding action heavily favored their group.

Think, Melgara, think. Her mind spun through countless options, certainly enough to boggle a lesser mind. They had read through several of the protocols, and her mind jumped to one in particular.

"Yes, there's something very wrong with the station," Melgara said. "Right now most of our personnel are aboard the station dealing with the issue. There's been an outbreak of Ketra Z virus."

Most of those on the bridge seemed completely glassy-eyed at the term, but they weren't who Melgara was aiming to inform. A Kikai man in the back of the bridge practically shot out of his chair, his tail going straight up into the air.

After all, it was a highly contagious disease that would cause severe aggression in the Kikai affected. It would be a very valid reason for a non-Kikai like herself to be in charge as well as the station being radio silent.

"Oh my god, that's horrible. Captain, this is an all-hands situation." He stated.

Melgara smiled at the medical officer's urgency. Not only was it a horrible disease, but it was also one that most doctors would find fascinating to witness. At least, that was the bet that Melgara had made in choosing that explanation.

Doctors rarely had the chance to see people lose all of their inhibitions as well as a good chunk of their IQ. And the effects were temporary, as it only disturbed the communication between neurons while the virus was present. But it was still nonetheless a fascinating view of an illness. It was not dissimilar to an ancient Earth disease called rabies.

"Hold." The captain of the battleship held a hand out. "If that is the case, I would expect to hear that report from the station itself."

"You don't understand," the medical officer continued to push. "If it's nearly as bad as it could be in an isolated space like the station, then it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't identify the outbreak until it was too late. Likely many of their senior personnel and medical personnel would be infected first. Once it’s declared the station is to go dark as to avoid any… inadvertent use of its systems."

"Exactly," Melgara said. "I've sent over most of my crew to manage the infection as best they can. They have the protocols, and I've been left aboard the ship to be able to communicate to any other crew and medical personnel." She gestured toward the other doctor who might be of assistance. "We could use all the help you're willing to offer."

Melgara knew how to stroke another medical professional's ego, and wasn't above doing it to get what she needed out of a situation.

"Of course, we'd be more than happy to help with such a situation." The medical officer agreed.

The captain of the ship still hesitated. "While I'm definitely concerned for the station and her crew, I must say that my crew still takes precedence. We've been on a long journey and have about five days of food left aboard after suffering several delays ourselves. I must insist that we fill our cup first."

Melgara was nodding along. "That makes perfect sense. I have several people in the station who can facilitate a nutripaste transfer, if that's what you need before getting started. After all, we're all simply trying to survive out here in space, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are." The other captain grinned and leaned back, seemingly pleased he had negotiated so easily towards his desires.

Melgara held herself back from rolling her eyes. The captain types were all the same. It was almost comically easy for Melgara to manage him. At least her captain was more grounded. He would have spotted the holes in the conversation immediately.

"If you go ahead and begin your docking, I'll make sure someone is there to pump the nutripaste." Melgara offered.

"Wonderful doing business with you," the captain said with a chuckle.

Melgara smiled while the doctor in the back seemed to be giving her a sheepish expression of apology. She gave him a nod back, pretending to exert grace towards them while ultimately sending them to their death. 

And Melgara held back the urge to whistle as the call ended and they began closing in on the lock closest to the nutripaste. It was just the reality that every military ran on its stomach. Even the Kikai, with their false sense of superiority, were no different.

Melgara paused and then turned her comms back on. "Apologies for the silence, Captain. I have sent them to the nutripaste store, expecting that we might be better able to deal with them there."

It was a long enough pause that Melgara was unsure if she had made the right decision in the silence, only for the captain to finally speak up. "Oh, well in that case, I think we can take care of this one way or the other. Aikari has full control of the station's weaponry. We just needed them close."

"Wonderful," Melgara said, leaning back as some tension bled out of her.

She looked down at her hands, and they were shaking ever so slightly, causing the Stellari to frown. Had she truly been so nervous of the captain's reaction? She stared at her hands as if they had betrayed her, and perhaps they had. She tapped them gently together and took a deep breath to clear her nerves. There was still plenty for them to do.