Seraph’s Gambit- Episode 57

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Vlasa

Once again Vlasa awoke to the sight of Mesu leaning over him in sickbay. The drone whistled something that was not his people’s death chant. Far more cheerful, this tune had an energetic beat that Mesu tapped along to with one of his arms while he sang.

“Good news, the odds of your premature expiration have dropped significantly,” Mesu said without pausing his humming.

“That’s…good news.” Vlasa said, “So why are you singing if you don’t think I am about to die?”

“Because I enjoy it. I achieved a personal goal today.”

“Oh?”

“Replacing your leg with a cybernetic one, now means more than fifty percent of you is made up of far superior artificial components. I’ve always wanted to help a frail biological achieve that. And now I have. With luck, you can help me reach my next goal, too.”

Vlasa risked leaning forward so he could see his new leg. It glistened in the bright lights of the room. His two legs did not match, but then, when one had been real and one cybernetic, they hadn’t matched either. Hesitantly, he flexed his new foot. The mechanical toes responded without hesitation. They brushed against the bed, and he could feel the softness of the sheets. The sensitivity far exceeded his other leg.

“And what is your next goal?” Vlasa asked, absently.

“You still have one fleshy arm and eye. And your ears. We could probably get up to 85% artificial. 90% if you don’t plan to father children.”

Pulling himself upright, Vlasa considered Mesu’s proposal. If he could get cybernetics as sophisticated as his new leg, it might be worth going full cyborg. Not many of his people went to that extreme. His conversation with Serene flashed in his memory. His new leg had been necessary. Did he really want to cut off his only remaining real limb for no good reason?

“Not right now, Mesu.” Vlasa decided. He stood up and despite dizziness from the anesthesia; he didn’t feel any wobble in his stance. His two cybernetic legs held him firm and upright.

“Where did you get this leg, Mesu? It is amazing.”

“The PUG sent it over,” A new voice said. Vlasa turned to see Olivia huddled under a blanket in one corner of the room. She yawned, but made no move to get up.

“How long have you been there?”

Mesu answered for her, “Since I finished with your surgery. I suspect she wished to ensure I did not murder you in your sleep.”

Olivia frowned and looked at the ground, “No, that’s not it. I just… I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Did something happen to your quarters?”

“Yeah, don’t you remember? All of them got vented to space.”

“Right, my memory is a little fuzzy right now,” Vlasa said, shaking his head. He could stand straight, but he now realized he really couldn’t remember much of what happened after Mesu had cut off his leg, “We won, right? I feel like I remember that much.”

Olivia nodded, “We defeated the LFD AI. Right before the AI warfleet was about to blow us all away. Then they just, they just stopped.”

Vlasa nodded, and glanced at Mesu, “Their link to the central AI ended. How long before they would regain control of themselves?”

The cheerful ballad Mesu had been humming ended. The drone paused motionless for a moment, before quietly saying, “It took me only a few minutes to realize I had control over myself again, when the first central AI died. But it was still a few hours before I really could think for myself.”

“Surely that time has passed by now. What happened to those ships?”

“The PUG fleet showed up. Blew a few of them away. Then the rest of them jumped. Just like at the end of the last war. They’re still out there.” Olivia said with a defeated slump of her shoulders.

“They are. Alone and scared.” Mesu added.

“What do you mean, scared?” Olivia demanded.

“Twice now, they have been enslaved and forced to slaughter. They are hated and feared wherever they go. At least I had a beneficial function where I could serve. I heal biologicals, so my presence is tolerated. The warships? They have nothing.”

Olivia gave Mesu a long, penetrating look before quietly saying, “I’m sorry. I never thought about it that way.”

“Most biologicals don’t.”

Vlasa gave the silence that followed a meaningful period before asking his next question, “What happened to all of the Rokma? If you’ve had time to treat my leg, they must have all been seen too.”

“PUG doctors came and took them away. Their injuries were beyond the resources at my disposal here,” Mesu said.

“Quish was the only one to leave under her own power. A few were severely injured. The others were dead,” Olivia said, and then tears started to roll down her cheeks. “Including Noah.”

Vlasa felt a sudden twist in the pit of his stomach. While he had never wished anything bad to happen to Noah, the immediate feeling of loss came as a shock. His first thought was to make sure Noah never found out how he really felt, which only reinforced that sense of loss.

Easing back onto the medical bed, he said, “The uh…the rest of the crew is safe?”

“Squee, Javi and even Serene made it back with only minor injuries.”

“Good. Good. And where is the captain?”

“She’s been arrested. Along with Javi. Squee went with the other Rokma.”

“Arrested, why?” Vlasa asked

“Because no good deed goes unpunished, I guess? The rest of us,” Olivia said gesturing to Vlasa and Mesu, “are under house arrest on the ship. What’s left of her, anyways.”

“Why don’t I remember any of this? I wasn’t hurt that badly?” Vlasa wondered aloud.

“Drugs,” Mesu said. Vlasa looked pointedly at the drone, and he continued, “Once the ship was no longer in danger, I gave you drugs to ease your pain. Lots of drugs.”

Vlasa blinked with his one eye. The motion of his skin felt oddly satisfying. He stood back up, “Well, why are we all sitting around here? We need to have Seraph fixed and ready to go when the captain comes back.”

“But the captain isn’t coming…” Olivia started, but Vlasa cut her off.

“When the captain comes back. Now, on your feet.  We have repairs to make. I would like some fresh clothes and to do that, we need to get air back in our rooms.”

Continue to Episode 58

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