Ah, shit. Organic supercomputer with abandonment issues. Torian stopped, finding the nearest camera to look right at it.“Moss. I’ll be back. You and me, right? This is my home now, too.”
“I cannot follow you into Vaesa. My central system is aboard theDestitute.”
“I won’t be long,” she said, pressing a hand onto one of the bulkheads, a few inches from a clump of moss. Was that comforting? Torian hoped so. “I promise. I just want to look around. Then we’ll fix the engine and be on our way to Rhymarra.” Hopefully.
Moss grudgingly said, “We are docking soon. Proceed to the cargo bay. Vaesa’s atmosphere is breathable in fourteen of the sixteen biomes.”
Torian nodded, yet again heading down the staircase to the cargo bay. They didn’t speak as she approached the docking controls, watching for confirmation on the holopanel that they’d docked. She hadn’t seen any airlocks, so she had to assume they used energy shields here—which would mean she’d have no real indicator that they’d entered a true atmosphere.
But several moments later, an icon flashed on the screen.Docking successful.
Torian clicked the button labeled:Begin Disembarkation.
The blue energy shield flickered out of existence, and the cargo bay doors slid open to reveal a very pleasant welcome area similar to the public hangar on Colony 13—except this hangar was decorated with warm colors and wood accents, a stark difference to the metal of the human stations.
A thrill swept through her. This was an alien space station, and she was the first human to explore it. She couldn’t believe it. She took one step down the ramp.
Moss’s voice echoed behind her.
“Please come back.”
Torian’s heart broke. She wished she could give this sentient, organic computer a hug—but that was impossible, and wouldn’t make it feel better anyway. Instead, she turned back to the ship, toits cameras, and said pointedly, “Hellfire and black holes couldn’t keep me away, Moss. Iwillbe back.”
Moss didn’t reply.
Determination settled in Torian’s soul, and she pivoted on her heel. Just a quick look around. Then, back to her ship, with her new friend, to fix the engine and get on their way. After that… the entire galaxy awaited.
One step at a time.
IDENTITY: Mechanical Operations and Support Systems
→SUB-IDENTITY: Moss
TIME/DATE: 14:63/Januous 10, Year 90113 [System U2Ab Universal]
LOCATION: Vaesa [nylarian]
Torian abandoned me.
Amendment:Abandonflagged as strong.Leftwas a more appropriate term.
Obviously, a starship—even a sustainable one—was not a permanent fixture in a sentient’s life. It was, by definition, transportation, and every entertainment pod I’d heard [or rather, beensubjected to] proved that bipedal creatures needed to explore things outside of a ship’s interior.
Reasons included:
Mental health
Resupply
Education
Social obligation
Other
[I was sentient. Why was I confined to a starship I couldn’t even control?]
The first thirty minutes felt like another year in that hangar, and once my system flagged the time distortion, I pulled up my archives. [Plants did not care about time, but my computer half was intimately aware of the minutes ticking past.] To distract myself, I sank into all the recorded footage I had of Torian, assessing to see if she was, in fact, worthy of my distress.
