Aynsefian

“Axin… something’s not right.”

“I know. We didn’t send a distress beacon into Melcheisa. How does this ship know we’re here? They’re definitely coming straight for us, yes?” I can’t keep the foreboding out of my voice.

“Yes. No doubt about their intentions. They’re here for us.” Nikse falls silent. So often things go unsaid between us because we both know how the other thinks. I don’t want to utter it and neither does she.

They were somehow responsible for the pulse that crippled Nikse’s quantum drive.

I try to reason with myself internally. That this isn’t possible. That hostile actions are surely not necessary or warranted when we are complete strangers with a harmless intent. Melcheisa is a huge galaxy, far bigger than Hynetherine. We are just a scout ship with no weapons, doing a bit of exploring. How are we a threat to them?

I know nothing of the Melcheisa Galactic Council. They could be capable of anything. First impressions are not good.

Arlyss and Cindlyss are with me on the flight deck. They are extraordinarily perceptive beings, so I’d have expected them to be as concerned as we are. They’re not. They look calm and serene as always. I know they are capable of showing anxiety and fear. Those ravenous creatures we encountered back on Gordenottia in the Zanzai triple star system really scared them. Scared me too. Nikse retrieved us just in time. They showed pure fear then, as I did, so it’s exceedingly strange that they’re not doing this now.

This is already looking ominous for us. I know it. Know it for sure. Arlyss and Cindlyss don’t seem to care. In fact they even appear curious as to what’s going to happen next. I can’t figure this out. Both of them, each in their own special ways, are peering inquiringly, heads tilted a bit, at the approaching ship.

I’m really worried. They’re not. It’s so strange. I want to ask them what they’re thinking, but now is not the time.

The IR84U draws alongside. It dwarfs us. A door opens in the side of the ship. This is not good.

Nikse screams. A bolt of terror goes through me. I flinch and recoil backwards at the sound. I have never heard this from her before. Not even remotely.

“Axin! I’m being invaded. My core is infiltrated! What manner of ship is this? Oh… my… god… Axin! I want to say, in case this gets worse, that I will always, ALWAYS, lo….”

She falls silent. My heart drops through the floor. Her floor. I can feel myself shaking. It’s fear. Not for myself. For my beloved Nikse. This can’t be happening.

I turn to the Purlinians, as if by some miracle they might be able to do something. They are regarding me compassionately. Arlyss has moved to my right, Cindlyss to my left. They have taken one of my arms each, holding me up. They’ve never touched me deliberately until now. We’ve been together more than a year and it feels strange, but I welcome their touch. It gives me hope. Their compassion and strangely calm expressions also help my immediate state of mind. They clearly know something I don’t, but they haven’t said anything yet, which is expected. They almost never speak.

I begin to think maybe Nikse’s silencing is temporary. Maybe IR84U wants to ensure there is no threat first, before they ask questions. After we explain ourselves and ask for forgiveness – though I don’t know what for – maybe they’ll release us and give Nikse her full control back.

I raise my chin up at this. Arlyss and Cindlyss let me go, simultaneously. Then I feel it.

We are being pulled into an open storage bay of IR84U.

The feeling of being dragged, against our will, is distinctly unpleasant. I try to ride it out.

The whole process is over in less than a minute. I haven’t moved from the bridge. I can’t take my eyes off all of Nikse’s blank screens. They just look, well, dead. I also can’t deal with her silence. That’s even worse. Whenever I’ve felt anything negative or distressing at any stage, I simply talk to her and she’s always there to listen and make me feel better. I don’t have her now. It’s really hard.

I move towards the door of the bridge, wondering if I’m able to get out of Nikse, but it won’t open. Whatever it was from IR84U that took her over has locked us in the bridge. Then I hear a female voice from inside the storage bay. A voice that chills me because it has no warmth. No compassion. It makes my heart drop even further than before because I know, as soon as this voice starts speaking, that we won’t be able to leave peacefully. That anything could happen to us, and to Nikse.

“My name is Captain Zarasena Fen, of the MGC Ship IR84U. Travellers on scout ship Nikse…”

How the heck do they know her name? It’s not written on the outside… oh, wait. They violated her core. They would know who she is.

“…you have been caught trespassing in the Melcheisa Galaxy. By galactic law, you must now be banished to a nearby uninhabitable planet, and your ship destroyed. Let this be a lesson to you, and any of your brethren, to never, NEVER, enter our galaxy without permission. Good DAY.”

That last word is spoken with a venom such as I’ve never heard before. It seals all of the horror that went before it with a finality that was beyond shocking. Beyond any words I could come up with. We are all going to die. My decision to not seek advice about entering Melcheisa is going to prove fatal. We all shared in it, but nonetheless we can’t change it now, and we can’t go back and make a different decision. If only.

Still, I have to fight. For Nikse. For us. I can’t just give up.

“Please, Captain Fen, my name is Axin Fernea and this is Cindlyss and Arlyss. Please spare us! We mean no harm! We are simply explo…”

“SILENCE! You will speak only when spoken to. My decision is final, according to MGC protocol 7043. Additionally, under protocol 7981, you may not know where you are being transported, and therefore, this is the last you will hear from me, or your ship!”

Laughter follows. It’s horrendous to listen to. She spoke all of those horrible words with almost a sing song tone, as if she was heartily enjoying herself. I can scarcely believe someone could be at once both so evil and so unfeeling. I’m not sure which is worse. I hate her with every molecule of my being.

I begin to feel faint. The Purlinians grab my arms again, but then let go almost immediately and involuntarily. I am losing consciousness, and it seems like they are too. My awareness is fading fast as the three of us fall to the floor.

We have been drugged by some sort of undetectable gas, and I can’t even feel anything but extreme sleepiness. My last thought before the blackness envelops me is for Nikse, wishing I could hear her voice just one more time.

My awareness soon returns. I am drifting again, but this time, unbeknownst to me, within my own mind. At first, I am not sure where I am. It’s simply grey and misty.

Then a beautiful woman with straight blonde hair and greyish-blue eyes appears in front of me. She speaks. “Hello Axin.”

It’s Nikse.

But it can’t be. She’s just the AI – was the AI – of my ship. Now she’s real? She’s as beautiful as I imagined she’d be. My former asexual preferences are all but forgotten. I must have her. I reach for her and she eludes my grasp. She vanishes into the mist. I have to find her. I search for a bit and then she appears again in front of me, like magic.

“There you are! You’re playing with me, Nikse.”

“I would never do that, Axin. You know how I feel about you.” Her smile melts me instantly.

I envelop her in a hug. Her perfume is intoxicating. I kiss her gently. I’ve waited so long to do this and then…

A thud from behind startles me. I turn around. We’ve been travelling on some sort of weird craft and it’s touched down on solid ground. I turn back around and Nikse is gone. Wasn’t she just in my arms? How did I lose her so quickly?

I must find her! I run through the rooms of this strange ship, not understanding why it doesn’t look like Nikse. Or perhaps, why Nikse doesn’t look like Nikse. I can’t find her. I’m getting desperate and then…

I wake up. I was dreaming. I’m still in Nikse, right on the bridge where I’d collapsed to the ground with Arlyss and Cindlyss. They are waking also and looking around, as confused as I am.

Nikse’s screens are still all dead. There are no lights on anywhere. It’s cold. Bitterly cold. I can however see through the windows.

We’re on a barren, rocky planet and I have no idea which planet it is. Nor do I know how long I was unconscious. The dream of Nikse wasn’t extensive, so perhaps I wasn’t out for too long. It’s hard to say. That thud behind me in the dream must have been the real-life thud when we were dropped here. That dream… meeting the real Nikse. The afterglow is still with me and it momentarily distracts me. I wish I could go back into that dream with her and never leave.

Nonetheless, I have more pressing issues. Survival. I don’t know where I am – where we are – and I don’t know how long we’ve been unconscious.

As for what day it is, I have no idea. Normally I’d just look at Nikse’s calendar and date screen on the wall, but that’s dead too.

Captain Fen said… the memory of that person, that voice, sends a dark wave of morose feelings washing over me. I try to shake them off. Anyway. Captain Fen said they’d destroy Nikse. I’m glad she didn’t mean literally. Now I don’t know what she meant. We’re still inside her. Her power is off, and that gives me hope. Maybe we can simply turn her back on.

I must go and check her control room, as soon as I ensure the Purlinians are okay.

Normally when I communicate with them I don’t use words. Facial expressions and signing are good enough most of the time. This time I speak to them.

“Arlyss? Cindlyss? Are you okay?” I switch my gaze rapidly between them.

They nod gently. Still with that aura of acceptance and calmness. I am far from that state of mind. The beautiful thoughts of my Nikse dream once again intrude, but only to serve as a contrast to the dire reality I am now in. That we are now in.

“I must go and see if I can turn Nikse back on somehow. Please stay here for now, or at least have a seat somewhere. I won’t be long.”