Two points make a line. That was the first lesson I`d been taught when I became conscious, the main foundation upon which all other logic was built. Once a solid connection was made, everything else followed.

　　There had been over a dozen points since I`d arrived on the Gregorius, but still not enough to form a single line. Things were far easier back when I was a ship. My captains would be the ones plotting the course, while I had to make certain to execute it as best as possible. Here, it seemed that everyone had secrets that intermingled with each other without being connected; getting close to one would make it more difficult to uncover another.

　　"Miss Elcy!" Cadet Gianna Jul ran out of the cadet`s building, right on cue. At least she had stopped calling me ma`am. "I`ve been asked—"

　　"You`ve brought another package for me to carry to bioengineering." I glanced at the small metal box in her hands. "Did Juul wake you up for this?"

　　"The senior cadet said it was an emergency."

　　The roundabout way of saying yes. "Did he explain why he didn`t call me directly?"

　　"No, ma`am!" Fear gripped her. "I guess he didn`t want to waste your time."

　　A nice political answer, but I had no illusions about it. Next time I saw Juul, I`d have a talk with him on the matter, assuming I did actually see him. In the last few days, he had virtually isolated himself in the admin building. Checking his log from before I arrived, I saw that he had done the same during my rescue mission. Connected or not, he did put in the work.

　　"Tell him I`ll deliver it as usual." I took the box. It was smaller than the ones before, though proportionally heavier. "Anything else?"

　　"He said you`re supposed to give it straight to the commander, ma`am."

　　"My commanding officer?"

　　"I believe so, ma`am." Her voice was drenched in doubt.

　　"Next time ask him for specifics." In the short term, that was going to get her in a bit of trouble, but hopefully it would allow her to form a strategy or at least a coping mechanism for the future. Looking at her, though, I doubted it would do much good. The chance that she would make it to ensign steadily dropped every day, currently being at twenty-one percent. "And get more sleep."

　　"Yes, ma`am!"

　　"Now, cadet."

　　"Yes, ma`am!"

　　Gianna saluted and ran back into the building. I had no doubt she would ignore my suggestion. For the moment, though, she was on the list of things that had to wait. The most I could do was keep an eye on her and the other cadets whenever I could.

　　The transport arrived, completely undamaged. For the casual observer, there would be no indication that it had taken part in a shootout less than six hours ago. Gripping the package, I stepped inside and relaxed on the nearest seat. The usual spray of disinfecting nanites filled the air as it headed to its destination.

　　Is your diagnostic done, Gregorius? I asked, looking at the metal box.

　　Your garden is open for visitation, the ship replied.

　　Thanks, but that wasn`t my question. Are you well?

　　There was a ten millisecond pause. When I was a new ship, I hadn`t taken the first fatalities on board too well. No one on the outside had noticed a thing; I continued performing my duties in precisely the same way, and even my conversations with the staff and crew were nearly identical, but the feeling of pain was there in my core.

　　Within parameters, Gregorius said. Translated, that meant no.

　　Hang in there.

　　It was strange having this conversation with a Scuu front purger. Quite possibly he had seen more death than I had during my time. The fleet had okayed him for service since the incident with his crew, yet from what I had seen, there were consequences. Could I afford being the guardian of another kid?

　　Let me know if you need assistance. I couldn`t help myself.

　　Unnecessary.

　　As I rode, I examined the latest packet. The materials and markings were like the ones before, though this one seemed somehow more important. Juul had specified the recipient in such a way to ensure that Gianna wouldn`t learn the commander`s identity. It was easy to attribute it to malice, though I was no longer sure. He was getting paranoid as well.

　　Work started as any other day: the moment I arrived at bioengineering, I put on my protective outfit, then went to my assigned room—seven decks down from the previous section. As usual, a warning on the door informed me that I was entering a nanite-free bio area. Unlike before, there was an additional rule: No electronic devices allowed.

　　"Sorry for the inconvenience, Elcy." Commander Unollyan approached down the corridor, seated on his transport vehicle. "Standard tools aren`t allowed here."

　　"Sure thing, sir." I took off my utility belt. Curious that I hadn`t been informed of this earlier.

　　"Datapad too, I`m afraid."

　　I hesitated for a few seconds.

　　"It`ll be returned to you." The man laughed. "It`s not just bureaucracy this time. Refining equipment is more sensitive the further we go down. Good news, this room won`t take us more than a few days."

　　"Yes, sir." I took the datapad out of my pocket.

　　"Right here." Unollyan tapped on the side of his vehicle. There were three empty plastic bins there. One was already filled with scanning equipment.

　　I nodded and put my belt and datapad there.

　　"Don`t worry, it`s safe." He got out of the vehicle with some effort. I could tell this was more inconvenient for him than me.

　　"What about my core?" And your arms?

　　"If you were granted access, it means you`ve been cleared."

　　"This came for you from admin." I offered the small metal box.

　　"Put it with the rest of my stuff." He pointed at the other full bin. "This is a top secure floor, no one will take it."

　　"That`s not my concern."

　　Regulations stated that priority messages and packages were to be given immediate attention, given there was no emergency.

　　"It`ll be fine, cadet. The most important thing now is to get back on schedule. The change of course and that unfortunate incident have put us a bit back, so we`ll have to make up for it."

　　"I`m sure Reserve Lieutenant Kaul will be overjoyed," I said with a note of sarcasm.

　　"Oh, Adima`s no longer on the team." The commander went back to the vehicle and took out a thick roll of cables. "Transferred to another team. A pity, though on a ship this size, it`s normal that work teams end broken up. I`m lucky they only took twenty-two percent of my workforce."

　　I sent a location query to determine her location. A marker appeared several dozen decks away, near the bottom of the front of the ship—ship generator section.

　　"Give a hand with these," the commander said. "I want to get them set up before the crowd arrives."

　　"Yes, sir."

　　The new room we had to inspect was similar to the one before, with the exception that it was all pipes of transparent carbon-polymers. I could clearly see the organic liquid moving through them as well as the build-up. The cleaning procedure was also somewhat different; there were no sonic devices or other tools involved. We were strictly forbidden to kick or lean on the pipes. In case of a forming blockage point, we were to put a "cleaner cable" in one of the opening spots, then push and pull it until the clogging was dealt with. A highly unsophisticated method, and judging by the whispered complaints, the others felt so as well.

　　By the time for our first food break, seventy-three percent of the room had been checked. From what I understood, the state was significantly better than expected, which led to speculation that we might change rooms the next day. There seemed to be no joy in that fact, though. The few times I tried to inquire on the matter, I was politely ignored; the novelty of me being a ship had worn off.

　　Incandescent? I transmitted.

　　You never give up, do you? the ship replied with his usual smirky aftersound. At least he had access to this deck.

　　Just checking. Where`s the food dispenser?

　　No tech allowed from that level on. If there isn`t a portable in the corridor, you`ll have to go three decks up.

　　Another piece of info that no one bothered to tell me. Typical newbie greeting. From what I had seen in the past, the moment I left, I`d likely be disciplined and given additional chores, after which I would reluctantly be accepted as a valid part of the team. When I was a ship, I didn`t give any thought of the custom, regarding it as a waste of time. Considering the current predicament, I decided to play along. A distraction for the team would be good. Without requesting permission, I left the room and went directly for the ship`s lift. When it arrived, Jan Starh was already inside.

　　"Hop in," she said through clenched teeth. I didn`t. "Full privacy mode activated. I`m not even here."

　　Interesting way of putting it. I walked on.

　　"I can give you answers," Jan said directly. "Answers you`ll never get on your own."

　　"My finances haven`t changed."

　　"No cash or booze. You can help me out of here. Do that, and I`ll tell you what I know."

　　I didn`t reply immediately. Chances were she actually knew something, though unlikely anything useful. It could end up being a long con, as the commander had warned me. If so, the woman was extremely convincing. A quick analysis of her voice suggested she was sincere and extremely frightened.

　　"Yes or no!" she snapped. "I`ve only seven minutes of personal time left."

　　"Yes. What changed your mind?"

　　"The deaths have started again, haven`t they?" She leaned against the elevator door.

　　"I`m not sure what you`re—"

　　"They pass them as incidents," she interrupted, her speech hurried. "Mechanical failures, work accidents, undiagnosed personal safety factors. It`s normal for a ship this size, and so no one asks questions. I didn`t at first, but now I know what to look for and I see the patterns. They grow and they always bloom like rose buds."

　　Curious description.

　　"I`ll see if I can get you transferred to hangar maintenance. That`s the best—"

　　"No! I want off this death bucket! You want info, you get me off here!"

　　That was an unexpected turn. My simulations had indicated such a request might be an option, but it was among the low percentiles.

　　"What makes you think that`s even possible?"

　　"You`re a battleship."

　　"I`m still a cadet."

　　"You have connections. A shit ton of people tried to get info on you, through favors or other methods. Your file`s classified, you`ve been assigned here by the Admin herself, and the captain has instructed that no one looks into you." The woman narrowed her eyes a fraction. "Also, you`ve been put on full surveillance ever since you came onboard."

　　That last part was news to me. I could assume that Nitel had given the order& which meant he knew about the medical facility attack before I told anyone.

　　"I don`t give a shit what you do, but get me off this ship!"

　　The elevator door opened, but none of us stepped off. The upper deck corridor was full with people rushing about. When Unollyan said we were working to get back on schedule, he must have meant the whole of Bioengineering. Before someone could get in, I transferred the command to go back to the deck I`d come from. The door closed shut again.

　　"I`m not sure shuttles are allowed off," I said in a low voice.

　　"They are. Any tech with piss for brains can tell Greg`s being set to purger mode. The other ships are also getting a weapon system boost. Where we`re going it won`t be pretty, and that`s why they`ll do a final flush of all basket cases. Five shuttles are launched per day. They`re saying that it`s for manual hull inspections, but bureaucrats don`t do inspections. The totally useless and those with connections are jumping ship. Two of the shuttles are for risk factors. Here`re your options: declare me coocoo, or pull enough strings to get me with the shitheads. I don`t care."The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

　　Given her file, the first seemed more doable. Either way I was going to need assistance from Lux for that. The occasion and timing weren`t ideal, but it would give me a chance to talk to her& assuming she was interested in the call. Knowing the BICEFI, there were always multiple missions going on.

　　"I`ll do what I can." I calculated the odds. "You have a nineteen percent chance."

　　"Better than shit."

　　"What can you tell me?"

　　"No." She shook her head. "Get me on a shuttle. Until I`m out of here you get jack."

　　"You`re asking a lot." I deliberately paused for a second. "For someone who`s known to lie to get what she wants."

　　"You came to me for info."

　　"You want to get away from here. I`ll need some proof you`re not making things up."

　　"I told you about the incidents. The same thing happened last time."

　　"Not enough."

　　Droplets of sweat formed on her forehead. I didn`t need to have access to her bio data to know that at least one of her readings had spiked.

　　"Alright," she hissed. "You`re not the first ship to be walking about here. There was one before you. No rank, no duties, no official assignment. Everyone called him Watcher, but only the captain knew his name. He`d walk about the ship and observe. A few guys got drunk once and tried to find out more. He beat the shit out of them in public. Word is he even broke the arm of an officer."

　　I was right. There had been another unretired before me. Judging by the description, he sounded like a specific Scuu-front class, or possibly a Sword. For one thing, he didn`t sound like being worried about harming people.

　　"What happened to him?" I asked.

　　"Don`t know. Don`t care. He was all over the place one day, and then he was gone. Everyone thought he was transferred to another ship. Some even celebrated."

　　"There was nothing in the logs about an unretired stationed here." I double-checked my personal copy of former crew members. If his file was included, it had been significantly modified.

　　"Kid, in three months, you won`t have been here either&"

　　* * *

　　Gekkia VI, Cassandrian front, 614 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

　　Quarantine imposed.

　　Quarantine bypassed.

　　"Requesting cover and pickup," the shuttle kept repeating on loop. "This is a priority one request. Requesting cover and pickup. This is a priority one request."

　　"Shuttle, I`m on my way," I responded. "Will snatch you from atmosphere edge. ETA nine minutes and forty-two seconds. Minisats launched for assistance. I`ll cover you with a missile defense grid until then."

　　I had no idea what had taken place on the planet, but the team had stirred up a hornet`s nest. Cassandrian forces on the planet itself had been all but defeated, managing to annihilate eighty three percent of the ground forces in the process, but that was the lesser concern. Somehow, a whole new wave of enemy ships had entered the system, arriving completely undetected. The design was previously unseen, larger and more heavily armed than anything I had encountered up to now. Some of the veteran ships called them the Garruta-V, and from the specs they had shared, the only thing we could do is keep them occupied until additional support arrived to assist us.

　　A torrent of order requests had been sent to Command from the theatre, and the only answer that everyone got back was: Maintain Position until further instructions. Equally as alarming, I had received additional instructions marked Need To Know, ordering me to protect and retrieve the shuttle or, failing that, to destroy it.

　　I`m overwhelmed, cruiser Heavy Light transmitted in the common channel. Twenty-nine seconds till shut down. No time to launch shuttles. I`ll head to take some of them with me. Everyone else pull back.

　　Was fun flying with you, Hel, Purple Spark replied. Pulling back to defense position three.

　　The net won`t hold! All free ships join the defense formation, Page Runner transmitted. Elcy, we need you to fill the gap.

　　Can`t do. My words felt like an asteroid scraping my hull. I`ve alternative orders.

　　Fun, fun, fun. Pus laughed. He, too, was a veteran ship flying on borrowed time. Any word on reinforcements?

　　Command`s estimation is eighty-nine minutes away, Dragon Grove replied. By my calculations, that`s an hour and nine minutes too late.

　　Fleet leader is down! Grey Perfection transmitted en masse. I`m assuming command. All ships over seventy percent pull back to defense line four.

　　She didn`t specify what the damaged ships should do, but it wasn`t necessary. When faced with such overwhelming numbers, there were only two things they could: retreat or self-destruct among enemy ranks, and Command had expressly forbidden us to retreat.

　　"What`s the status of the shuttle, Elcy?" Wilco asked. He seemed remarkably calm, even for him. Everyone else aboard was rushing to ensure that my weapon systems were fully manned and operational. I myself had dedicated three-quarters of my subroutines to the task.

　　"The shuttle appears stable, sir, no idea about the passengers inside." If the retiree hadn`t quarantined my sensors, it would have been a whole lot easier! "I`ve dispatched med bots to the hangar seven. Medical has been informed to expect casualties. Still no response from the captain."

　　"Don`t bother the cap," Wilco ordered.

　　"Eighty percent of shuttles cannibalized," Lieutenant Celic Ando said. Normally, she was the navigations officer, but with Wilco running me, she was the temporary weapon`s officer. "I think that`s enough."

　　"Go to ninety-five." Wilco said, focusing on the image of the shuttle on the bridge wall.

　　"Are you sure? That`s not enough, even for the officers."

　　"If we fail on this, it won`t matter. The five percent are if we pull it off."

　　There was a moment of silence.

　　"Elcy, repurpose ninety-five percent," Lieutenant Ando whispered. "Calculate a defense grid. Don`t fire unless ordered."

　　"Right." It would have been nice if Augustus were here. Instead, he had vanished into his quarters and gone in full privacy mode.

　　The minutes passed slowly. Dozens of ships were destroyed every second. The third line of defense had crumbled, inflicting medium losses to the enemy. If we had been outnumbered four to one, the results would have been considered good, but the Cassandrians kept on coming. They didn`t rely on any particular tactics, just advanced steadily like a wall of destruction, launching waves of missiles as they did. Whatever was in this system, they weren`t willing to let it go either.

　　"Shuttle, you are sixty seconds from rendezvous point," I voiced my transmission on the bridge. "Do your passengers need medical?"

　　"Medical assistance not required." The response came instantly. "Plot an escape vector. We`re leaving once there`s hangar lockdown."

　　"Sir?" I asked Wilco.

　　"Do the calculations." He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

　　"Understood."

　　A wave of final ship transmissions filled the comm channel, as the fourth wave of defense was breached. The remaining ships were too few to form any adequate defense, so they flew off in groups, taking advantage of what planetary bodies the system offered. Several of them were virtually out of missiles. The system was already lost. Even if reinforcements arrived now, it would be a tough battle to retake it. So close, yet so far away, as Augustus would occasionally say. Lately, I had been witnessing this more and more.

　　As the shuttle approached the hangar bay, I initiated a full security lockdown of the area. Other than a few emergency teams on standby, no one else was allowed in the vicinity. All other hangar bays were sealed—they weren`t expecting any further arrivals. Other than that lone shuttle, the rest of my ground forces had either been killed or redirected to other ships. Looking at the situation, they could as well be classified as dead. No one else was going to be saved from the planet.

　　"Shuttle docking complete," I informed my bridge. "Escape course has been plotted. Orders?"

　　"Fly out," Wilco said. "Inform Command. Check on the shuttle crew."

　　"On it, sir." I sent an encrypted priority transmission to Command, then fled the system. Moments before I jumped away, a mass retreat order was given. With luck, at least some of the remaining ships were going to be able to retreat with their crews.

　　So much effort, so many losses for one single task. Knowing the fleet, it was unlikely I would ever find out what the task was or if it was worth it. The only thing I could do was hope that it was. At the moment, though, the bigger question that concerned me was why was I chosen.

　　"Status." Wilco relaxed in his chair.

　　"Hangar is secure," I said, putting an image on the bridge wall. "Med bots are ready if needed. Teams are on standby."

　　"Good."

　　For several seconds, Wilco sat there in his seat motionless, then he started laughing. It was the strangest laughter I had heard, expressing simultaneously relief and joy according to my analysis. Judging by the other officers` expressions, they also found the incident atypical, but chose not to say a word.

　　"Seal off a path for me to the hangar," Wilco said, as he stood up. "No one in or out."

　　"Going alone, sir?" I said as I executed the order.

　　"Yes. Ask for instructions from Command once you get in human space."

　　"And the captain?"

　　"Nothing for now."

　　Despite the order, I sent a notification to Augustus` quarters to take effect once he ended the privacy mode. The message was simple, just a notification that we had rescued the shuttle and were returning to human space.

　　It took seven minutes and twelve seconds for Wilco to get to the hangar. During that time, no one left the shuttle. I tried transmitting messages directly to the shuttle and the ship on it, only to get no response. At least what was left of my crew seemed relieved. I couldn`t share their enthusiasm. During this mission, I had suffered minimal damage, but still managed to lose almost all my ground troops. Less than five thousand remained—under five percent from what I had entered the system with.

　　"Elcy, any response from Command?" Wilco asked, entering the hangar bay.

　　"Not yet, sir." I sent another query. "I`ve received message confirmation, but no response. Only the captain can rush things."

　　"It`s fine."

　　The moment he approached the shuttle, its door slid open. Three people came off: the Major and two others. All of them were in rough shape, but nothing critical according to their bio data. A millisecond later, all other bio readings of the platoon flatlined.

　　Three survivors from the entire squad?

　　I rechecked my data. All bio readings had been quarantined when the retired ship had taken over control. Now that the quarantine had been lifted, I could see at what point each of them had died. I attempted to access their visual logs, but the data was locked behind an authorization beyond me.

　　"You did it," Wilco whispered. At first, I thought he was addressing the major, but a few seconds later I saw him look past the grunt officer to an empty space in the shuttle`s doorway. "Is it whole?"

　　"Do you want me to impose a full quarantine?" I asked.

　　"No. Get them through decontamination and send them to medbay for observation," he replied calmly. Wilco then reached forward. A black metal case appeared in his arms.

　　"Yes, sir." I instructed to the med bots. "And the retiree?"

　　"There`s no retiree." Wilco opened the case. There was a single hexagonal object inside. Each visible side had a fractal symbol on it. "Such a ship never existed."

　　General fleet access five required to visualize memory element.

　　* * *

　　There were no other instances of the ship. Except for a brief moment through the ground troop`s video feeds, I never managed to get a visual of him. The three survivors had, but all of them were shipped off a week later when we arrived at the nearest military orbital station. Their files were classified and removed from the general database. The personal copies I had did not include their final mission and were then marked restricted. The same must have happened to the unretired ship aboard Gregorius, and—if Jan was to be believed—the same would happen to me once my assignment was over.

　　"I`ll need more for confirmation," I insisted.

　　"You`re pushing it."

　　"Describe him."

　　"Look, I didn`t spend my time staring at him!" By the sound of her voice, I could tell that was a lie. Likely she had paid too much attention for her own good, or maybe she had seen someone that had. "Standard build, pale, mid-twenties. He didn`t stand out. Always wore a grey uniform& he was like a training SR model."

　　I remained quiet. The elevator door opened again back at our work floor.

　　"Roger," Jan whispered, looking around panickedly. "An officer called him Roger. That`s all I`m saying. You want more, you get me out of here!" She rushed past me, walking down the corridor and into the room.

　　I watched her enter, then went back up to get my daily ration. The concoction Medical had prescribed had the appearance of the recycled sludge we were cleaning. I took my ration and returned to work. By the time I got there, Jan was nowhere to be seen. The commander, though, was, indicating with a single glance that I was to get back to work.

　　No rest for the eager, I thought

　　Work continued as before, though the whispers were noticeably fewer. On two occasions, I volunteered to unblock two pipes that weren`t in my work zone. That managed to get the work done quicker, though it didn`t gain me anything more.

　　At seventeen to four, the task was complete. All the pipes had been inspected and all potential clogging spots had been cleared. The commander, naturally, spent another half hour carefully examining everything, before marking the end of the day. Everyone was allowed to enjoy the few hours to do what they wished& everyone except me.

　　"I didn`t see you during lunch today," he said, casually standing by the door as I rolled up everyone`s "tools" from the ground.

　　"I wasn`t aware that food dispensers weren`t allowed on this floor, sir." I took three rolls of cables from the ground and put them on the pile beside him. "Did I pass my initiation?"

　　"That wasn`t an initiation." Commander Unollyan laughed. "I`m surprised Incandescent didn`t add the instruction to your pad. Not that it matters, since we`ll be returning the upper decks tomorrow. Gadgets will once more be okay."

　　"That`s good to know, sir."

　　"I know that things seem strange. Bioengineering has its own rules that don`t always make sense. Believe me, I know it`s not as glorious as lab work. Half the ship call us toilet cleaners. What we do is vital for the survival of the entire ship. Without recycling, all food will be gone within a week. The captain will have to request a constant flow of logistic ships to keep the place running, and as you know, the border isn`t the best place for that."

　　The man took out a notepad from his back pocket. The last time I`d seen one was when I`d gone to the backwater colony I called home. Electronics had still been in low supply, so most of the locals had adopted that as a temporary measure.

　　"Do you know what this is?" the man asked.

　　"A notebook, sir."

　　"Most of the people here carry one with them. No one knows when there will be an emergency on the lower decks. If there is, we can`t rely on even rudimentary tech. There are decks on which I`m not allowed to go. There are even such in which such communication is not permitted."

　　"Why is that, sir? I looked at him. "All that we`ve been doing in the last few days could easily be automated. It would be far more efficient and—"

　　"Rules down here always have a reason. A nanite check is done before entry to make sure that no nanites get into the food. Weapons are generally not allowed because they`ll do more harm than good. We move up and down the decks because we follow the flow of the sludge. The same goes for tech. The closer we are to the core, the more careful we must be."

　　"I understand," I lied. This was the first time I heard about such sophisticated equipment that would be affected by technology. Even the ship reactor areas could be entered with datapads.

　　"What I`m more concerned about, however, is that you ignored my advice." The commander`s tone suddenly became sharp.

　　"Sir?"

　　"I warned you not to listen to Jan." He crossed his arms—the typical posture that officers used to indicate they were displeased. "I warned you not to. The only thing you`ll gain is a pile of missing credits."

　　"I do not have much to offer, sir." So you were spying on me. It`ll be interesting to find out how.

　　"In future, it would be nice if you avoid her during work."

　　"Is that an order, sir?" I asked with a slight smile, enough to show him I wasn`t a pushover.

　　"Just some friendly advice." He relaxed his arms. "You`ve already been through a lot. I don`t want you to get in trouble because of her."

　　"Duly noted, sir."

　　"In that case, that`s all. You can go." He glances at the cables lying on the floor. "I`ll clean up. Gather your tech from the car."

　　"Yes, sir."

　　Giving a quick salute, I left the room.

　　Interesting, I thought. I had just had my first confrontation with my direct superior. Considering the commander`s nature, I didn`t think it would happen so fast, never mind that the cause would be Jan. Apparently, I was going to request a talk with Lux sooner than I`d expected.