He tilted his head to the side as he thought he heard a sound like a musical quality to the thrum. As if there was a trill at the end of each short thrum and a deep bass rumble with the longer thrums.
His hand tingled as if it were falling asleep and then he saw it. At first, he had only seen the blackness that one normally sees behind one’s eyelids, but then there was a spark. It was off in the distance. Jace smiled. He remembered this from before.
Gehenna, I think I found something.
Ah, yes, I see it too! Another live wire, Gehenna breathed.
Jace willed himself to the spark. It did take on the appearance of a wire, but it wasn’t snapping, spitting and hissing at him. Instead, it lay neatly coiled with the tip simple glowing white.
Are you going to pick it up? You have to! I bet something good will happen, Gehenna enthused.
Jace imagined reaching down for the coil. He hesitated. He was without pain for the first time in… he wasn’t sure how long. Last time he’d touched one of these wires the pain had been hideous.
It’s not going to hurt, Jace, Gehenna told him softly. You’re changed now. You’re the Pilot.
Are you sure? He asked, still holding back.
Yes, I’m sure. It’s okay. Really.
Jace grasped the coil and tipped it’s end towards his face. There was no pain. None at all. There was just this single white spark at the end. Jace stared into it. The white spark became larger and larger and larger, eating away at the darkness all around him until there was blinding light.
Gehenna, what’s happening?!
And then… an explosion! Not painful, but the light shattered and Jace’s eyelids flew open. Sweat coated his brow. He was shaking.
“Jace?” Khoth put a steadying hand on his shoulder. “Jace, are you… you… what… what is this?”
Jace understood Khoth’s shock. The Core was suddenly filled with holograms. They were named Bridge, Engineering, Med-Bay, Docking Bay, Armory, and more, so much more. They floated and spun everywhere in the room. Khoth touched one of the holograms. It spun faster and sparkled and then the holograms collapsed in on each other down to one. A model of the entire ship. It floated at Jace’s chest level.
“That’s the Osiris, yes?” General Intoshkin stared at the spinning ship model. The blue and gold hologram reflected in his eyes as they widened.
Jace reached out and touched it. The model spun faster for a moment like when Khoth had touched the hologram titled Bridge.
“Stop,” Jace said.
The ship model stopped moving. It was beautifully detailed. That one section of the ship they’d seen in the cavern was nothing compared to the whole of the ship. The ribbons of metal, though large enough to have semis drive through, were small on the model. Tiny really and were only present at the very back end of the ship. In a way, the Osiris was shaped like a skyscraper laying on its side, but with rounded corners and other “buildings” jutting out from its sides. The front tapered with dozens of needle-like points thrusting forward like a handful of swords. They surrounded a domed structure.
Maybe the Bridge? Jace thought, but he was leery about touching the model for fear it would react.
“It’s responding to you,” Khoth whispered as if that was a good thing.
Everyone crowded around him. General Intoshkin was beside Gehenna. When he noticed, he side-stepped slightly. Jace knew it wasn’t cowardice. There was something menacing about the cleaning bot body, though not Gehenna herself.
“Jace, you should touch it again,” Thammah urged.
“Why don’t you touch it?” his father asked her. There was a slight sting to his words, but he was also smiling. He clearly liked Thammah, but wanted to protect him.
“Your son is the Pilot. I’m just a pilot,” she answered with a shrug.
“That’s not--”
“Dad, she’s right. This is my duty… thing… whatever. I’m the Pilot,” Jace said.
He saw his father’s mouth opened and he imagined the dozens of things his father could say that were true and right. Like he’d put on 40 pounds of muscle. Like he might not recognize himself in the mirror. Like he had no idea what had been done to him. All right and true and yet… he felt fine. More than fine. Spectacular really. But he couldn’t blame his father for wanting to take it slow. Jace had always had to take it slow.
Maybe not this time.
Jace grasped the hologram with both hands. There was the faintest buzz under his fingertips, but there was no real weight there. He realized he could manipulate the model. His eyes widened.
