Commonwealth Naval Headquarters, Nekul System

Private office of the Grand Admiral of the Neo-Commonwealth Navy

857.4 light years from Earth, June 16th, 2176 A.D.

Therax quickly entered the office and palmed it shut before throwing himself into the chair behind his desk and leaning back as far as it would go without tipping over.

He was utterly exhausted, and it took considerable effort just to raise his hands and undo the buttons on the front of his uniform so he could open the stifling and constricting garment. He moaned with relief, grateful to finally breathe normally for the first time in many solar hours as the breeze from the air recyclers cooled his exposed chest and stomach.

I am getting too fat for my uniform, he realized as he glanced down at his exposed stomach, embarrassed by the glistening softness covering his abdominal wall. He had always prided himself on maintaining his conditioning despite his high rank, but all the stress eating and lack of exercise was finally catching up to him.

He leaned his head back on the headrest and forced his tense neck muscles to relax before closing his eyes. "Computer, wake me in fifteen solar minutes." He never heard the confirmation beep of the computer, already fast asleep when it acknowledged his command 1.2 solar seconds later.

He was on the bridge of the Ancestor's Glory, and though he was screaming orders as loud as he could, no one seemed to be able to hear and execute them as hundreds of thousands of points of light emerged from the depths of the darkness to devour them.

The bridge began to shake violently as the ship was pummeled by the endless waves of enemy ships passing them, and he pleaded with his crew to execute evasive maneuvers and fire back.

None responded, and they remained motionless, all of them staring stupidly at the flickering viewscreen as the other Commonwealth warships disappeared in brilliant flashes of nuclear annihilation until only the Ancestor's Glory remained.

The bridge stopped shaking, and the viewscreen flickered again before displaying the aft recorders as an unstoppable tide of angular ships blasted for their target, no longer concerned with his impotent ship.

Beyond the endless waves of Balrikan ships hung Nekul Prime, a brilliant green jewel nestled in the velvety blackness as it spun serenely, unaware of the mortal danger coming to feast on it and all who dwelled on the surface.

The Balrikan ships fired antimatter missiles and kinetic slugs from their mass drivers even as they disgorged troopships and landers that sprinted for Nekul Prime like swarms of locusts.

Brilliant flashes of light erupted on the surface when the missiles and slugs reached their targets, easily visible from space as hundreds of millions of innocent Nekuli went to join their ancestors before they even knew what was happening.

Hundreds of transition thresholds formed in low orbit, their dazzling bursts of light blinding him temporarily. He blinked away the spots, and thousands of Republic warships emerging from null space took their place as his vision returned. His heart soared at the sight of their human allies arriving as they formed a wall of ships between the Balrikans and the now marred and blackened jewel behind them.

Therax called for a channel to be opened to the Republic fleet, but like before, none answered his command, and he roared in frustration before leaping out of his chair and pushing the comm officer out of his seat. He looked down at the fallen comm officer on the deck for a moment, his mind refusing to acknowledge that his own face was looking back at him.

Therax looked around at the other bridge officers and saw that they too were all wearing his face, but their eyes were dull and lifeless, and their stolen faces sagged from exhaustion and defeat. He quickly entered commands and opened a channel to the fleet before looking up at the viewscreen, feeling hopeful for the first time since the enemy had come.

The screen flickered, and a uniformed human with a void helmet appeared, the mirrored faceplate hiding their face.

"Thank the Creator and the ancestors! Please help us; why aren't you firing on them!?"

The faceplate flipped up, and his knees buckled as he saw Mei Zhou smiling at him. Before he could process what was happening, the screen flickered again, showing another mirrored void helmet. The faceplate flipped up, and it was Mei Zhou again, but now her face was heavily bruised, and he saw her bloody, broken teeth as she smiled at him like she did before her death.

The screen flickered again, and again, and again, all showing Mei Zhou as the faceplate flipped up, but each time, a little less of her was recognizable as her face continued to decay and rot. The terrible flickering continued until finally the faceplate flipped up, and he was greeted by the grinning skull of what used to be Mei Zhou.

This time she finally spoke to him, the skeletal jaws making sickening clacking sounds as the air whistled between her broken teeth. Her voice was entirely devoid of emotion, sounding almost like a computer with none of the warmth he so missed ever since she crossed the river to join the ancestors in Paradise.

~ Grand Admiral Therax, the allotted fifteen solar minutes have passed. ~

"Mei Zhou, I'm sorry! I'm sorry it was you who died, not me!" He cried out to her. She ignored him and continued clacking her teeth and jaws together as she spoke again.

~ Grand Admiral Therax, fifteen solar minutes and ten seconds have passed. ~

"Mei Zhou, come back to me! Please come back, and I will take your place! Please, Clan leader, don't leave me again." He begged her before falling to his knees and burying his snout in his hands, no longer able to endure the grinning skull and the staring, empty eye sockets as the jaws clacked again.

~ Grand Admiral Therax, fifteen solar minutes and twenty seconds have passed. ~

The mocking skull of his clan leader disappeared, and he was now looking at a smooth white surface. The blurry and diffused lighting emanating from it hurt his eyes as he blinked away the water within them and felt it collecting into his snout folds.

~ Grand Admiral Therax, fifteen solar minutes and thirty seconds have passed. ~

His head swam as he tried to clear his confused thoughts, wondering why he was still hearing Mei Zhou's death voice even though he could not see her anymore. A loud and abrupt banging noise startled him and flooded his body with fighting chemicals as he tried to orient himself towards the unseen danger.

He felt himself falling off the edge of something, and he could not bring up his arms to protect himself as the paralysis gripped him. The sensation of falling ended almost as abruptly as it had begun, and his eyes flew open, revealing the soft white lighting of the ceiling bulkhead in his office.

He gasped and leaned forward, falling out of the reclining chair as it tipped over the pivot point. He almost slammed his face into the desk before his paralyzed hands finally obeyed and reached out to break his fall, gripping the edge and stabilizing him as the office nauseatingly spun around.

He remained there for several solar seconds, afraid to let go as the spinning slowly subsided until he no longer felt like regurgitating what little he had in his stomach. He flinched as the loud banging sound resumed, making his already elevated heart rate skyrocket as fighting chemicals flooded his body again.

The banging noise was from the closed door, and he could hear the muffled voice of his aide calling out on the other side of it. "Clan Leader! Do you need any assistance? We are going to override the locking mechanism if you do not answer!"

"No! I will unlock it!" He called out, deeply embarrassed by how weak and shaky his voice sounded in his own ears. He jammed a finger on the door control pad in front of him, and the armored door slid into its recess with a slight hissing sound.

His aide and two other soldiers burst into the room, their hands on their holstered plasma pistols. After looking around suspiciously for a moment, the aide finally looked at Therax, his snout folds contorted in deep concern. "My apologies for disturbing you, Clan Leader. The computer detected your elevated biometrics and informed us of your distress after you did not respond to the alarm you set."

Therax shakily waved away the concern as he straightened himself back up. "It is fine, Harvix. Thank you. I was merely dreaming; I must be more exhausted than I realized to go into the dream state so quickly. I am awake now, so you may return to your station."

The aide signaled to the soldiers to depart and remained behind as they left before reaching down and pressing the control to seal the armored door again. He waited until it was closed and locked before gazing at Therax, his eyes lingering on the exposed chest and stomach of his clan leader for a moment before looking back up.

"Clan leader, you are doing too much. You alone cannot bear the responsibility of rebuilding the Commonwealth Fleet and training the new crews. You are Grand Admiral; it is your job to delegate, not personally control the fate of every new ship and hundreds of thousands of naval recruits.

You are even taking on the responsibility of the ground forces and millions of soldiers, which is not traditionally within the purview of the Grand Admiral. With the news of your father and clutch sister, I fear you are ignoring your pain and regret of not being able to go to them by taking on more work instead of confronting and processing the terrible news.

If you do not let me and the others help you, your mind will shut down. What will we do then when the enemy comes, and you are not with us when we need you most because the High Command decides to initiate the Kureth'Zai Protocol and remove you?"

Therax stared at him with a mixture of shame and anger for not only immediately seeing the problem but also predicting the most likely outcome if Therax continued refusing to let others bear some of his enormous responsibilities. The term echoed in his mind as he began to button his uniform back up, ashamed for letting his aide see his softness.

Kureth'Zai is a poetic term, with Kureth meaning mind veiling or clouded judgment, and Zai meaning celestial course, used metaphorically for duty or destiny. The closest translation to Galactic Standard is when the mind shadows the stars, and the protocol is used when a Nekuli commander is relieved of duty due to signs of cognitive degradation, emotional collapse, or neural overstrain.

The phrase implies that one's mind has become a veil between them and the clarity of command, and it has only been used twice to remove a grand admiral in the last five hundred cycles, as it is considered the end of one's career even if they fully recover.

Therax knew Harvix was right, but it still rankled him to acknowledge his aide was telling the truth. He would have to admit that he was not able to do it alone, and to Therax, that was a sign of weakness, justified or not.

Stop being a fool, and let others help you! is what his aide was really telling him, and he bared all his fangs in true happiness at Harvix for the first time in many moons, grateful to have such a competent and trusted confidant in his lonely position as Grand Admiral.

Harvix's eyes lit up with pure joy at the sight of the Grand Admiral baring all his fangs in true happiness, and he bared his own fangs in solidarity before saluting as Therax clasped the last button closed and straightened his neck collar to regulation.

Therax returned the salute before gesturing for Harvix to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the desk as he reached down and picked up his own chair, waving away Harvix's attempt to come over and assist. "Sit down, Harvix!" He said with only slight exasperation, grateful that his command voice was almost back to normal as Harvix immediately complied and sat down across from him.

Therax sat down again in the chair and toggled the reclining function off before looking at Harvix expectantly. There was no way he had come just because of the computer; he would have known Therax was merely sleeping from the biometric readings.

Harvix was already coming for another reason, and an important one at that, to be willing to rouse the grand admiral out of his much-needed rest. Therax could see the reluctance in Harvix's eyes and decided he did not have the patience or the time for this.

"Tell me what is going on."

Harvix's snout folds scrunched up for a moment before his face went neutral again, and he reached into the left chest pocket of his uniform before pulling out two small blue crystal chips and holding them up for Therax to see.

"One is from President Lopez. The other is from Vice President Laurent, with a coded message from Vice President Davix included. You are to view the second crystal first, as commanded by Vice President Davix; it is for your ears only."

Harvix leaned forward and gently placed them on the desk within arm's reach of Therax before standing back up and rendering another crisp and proper salute. "I will be outside in case you need me, and I will ensure you are not disturbed, Grand Admiral."

Harvix spun around smartly and was already almost at the door before Therax even made to get out of his seat and return the salute, and he palmed the locking mechanism and exited the office as Therax reached for the data crystals.

He examined them first and inserted the one with the Nekuli numeral for two on it before activating the desk holo screen as he leaned back in his chair. Vice President Davix appeared first, and he listened intently as the vice president ordered him to do whatever he could to assist the Republic without weakening the defensive posture of the Neo-Commonwealth.

"The humans have proven time and again to us they are the kindred spirits we have been searching for ever since we left our Cradle World and entered the firmament, Therax. They answered when others called for aid, and now they are asking others to do the same for them.

They helped us to see what true honor and courage looked like after we blinded ourselves with loyalty to a government that did not value such concepts. We forgot what it meant to be Nekuli, and they guided us back to the true path of our ancestors with deeds of sacrifice and courage that reminded us of what we once were before we lost our way."

Vice President Davix stopped speaking and looked down at his desk for a long moment before glancing back up, his eyes filled with fire and determination as he continued.

"We will answer their call for aid, Therax. If not for them, the Neo-Commonwealth we now serve would not exist, and we will be there for our friends and allies like they have been there for us. To do otherwise would dishonor us beyond redemption, and our ancestors will turn their faces from us when we cross the river and try to enter Paradise.

The endless multitudes on the banks will say, 'We do not know those who are without honor. They are not of us, and we do not welcome them into Paradise. Send them to the Sea of Wickedness, where they truly belong.'

You are to gather what forces you can afford to spare and help our allies in their time of need. Use your best judgement, and the codes I have provided in the chip will grant you complete and total control over all Commonwealth military assets without requiring approval to save you precious time."

The official message ended with the vice president ordering him to send a coded signal detailing the forces he assembled and to flash out as soon as he was ready before the Commonwealth Parliament could interfere.

The vice president had one last, personal request to ask as his eyes changed and became filled with worry.

"And Therax, I am very concerned about your father and your clutch sister. I know you have received a message from President Lopez on the Ma'lit outpost in the Ominian System. I have prayed to the Creator and the ancestors to watch over them ever since the cowardly suicide attacks, and I ask for a boon if you are willing.

After you are finished reviewing the message from President Lopez, please let me know the status of your father and clutch sister. My attempts to contact the outpost have failed, and the Nekuli spy courier I sent there has been denied the ability to dock or even speak with any of the surviving Commonwealth dignitaries due to the comm blackout.

We simply cannot afford to continue using the null space relays, and I am desperate for any news. I served with your father ever since we met in the Commonwealth Naval Academy almost sixty-eight cycles ago, and he is the only clutch brother I truly have in this world.

You are his children, but you have been mine as well ever since I watched you and your clutch sister Verixa struggling to break through your shells. I cannot father any clutches since the reactor accident on the Spear of Hol'thar, but I did not have to, because the Creator blessed me with you and Verixa to call my own."

Therax was deeply affected by the love evident in the vice president's eyes and snout folds, and he felt himself becoming emotional as the vice president's distraught face faded out, his eyes pleading for Therax to grant him this one favor as the screen went black.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

He eyed the first chip with trepidation, trying to convince himself that the Republic's call for help took priority, but his love for his father and his clutch sister won over his duty to the Commonwealth, and before he knew what he was doing, the chip was in his hands.

His trembling fingers pulled out the second chip and inserted the one from President Lopez into the slot, and he pressed it in until the familiar snick of the crystal being secured by the internal mechanisms sounded.

The blank holo screen displayed the ferocious-looking eagle emblem of the Republic for several solar seconds before President Lopez's gaunt face and deep, hollow eyes filled with pain and exhaustion appeared, making his heart sink into his stomach as he stared at her in shocked disbelief.

What in the three hells has happened to you, Clan Leader? He wondered as she began speaking in a frail and shaking voice. He saw the deep wrinkles on her visibly aged face as he tried to remember if they had always been there or if he was only just noticing them now while he listened to her trembling words.

Ominian System

Automated Border Outpost 1D-25

Critical Care Unit 2-B

Verixa stared at the silvery orb hovering in front of her, the only source of light in the oppressive darkness. The orb had been her spirit guide, showing her the entirety of her life and experiences ever since she regained consciousness.

After the spirit guide showed her the sum of her life, from her struggle to break through her shell all the way up to the short-lived, immense pain of her body being torn in half by the explosion, it remained floating in front of her as if waiting for something.

She had not spoken once during the whole experience, and she eyed the spirit guide with curiosity, sensing that it was a benevolent presence rather than an evil one. She could not feel the passage of time in this place where minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days, and she finally decided to speak for the first time.

"Where am I? Am I dead?"

The silver orb shimmered briefly before responding in an ambiguous voice with no clear gender.

~ You are not dead yet, at least not in the biological sense. You are in the surgical suite of the Ma'lit outpost. Whether you truly die is up to you and the choice you make now, Verixa. ~

She pondered its answer for some time, feeling extremely at peace with herself before asking another question.

"Who are you? Are you my spirit guide?"

~ I am Companion. I am a blended artificial intelligence of both Ma'lit and Human origin that was specifically created for you. The term spirit guide, in the way you mean it, is an appropriate description, though not technically correct. ~

"If I am not dead yet, then am I alive?"

~ That is an excellent question, Verixa. Yes, you are alive, though not in the way you mean it. You no longer dwell within your biological body, but your brain and nervous system have been placed within a bottle in preparation for installation within a Ma'lit biomechanical construct, pending your acceptance of your new reality. ~

She took her time processing the answer, watching the silver orb slowly rotating as it hovered right in front of her.

"A bottle? Like the human BioSynths?"

~ Yes, Verixa. Like the human BioSynths, but different. You will not be placed within such a crude mechanical construct as they are but installed in a highly advanced biomechanical android that will approximate your biological body instead. ~

"I see. I will not be alive, but I will not be dead, because I will exist inside an android body. Does this mean I am no longer Verixa but something else?"

The orb shimmered again before answering.

~ You are still Verixa. Your memories, your experiences, and everything that made you Verixa are still intact. ~

"And my soul, Companion? Do I still have that?"

The silver orb shimmered more brightly this time before answering.

~ I am not qualified to answer that question, Verixa. ~

"Tell me of this new body I will inhabit if I agree to do this. Will I live a normal lifespan? Will I feel pain or sadness? Will I be able to know the joys of eating and drinking?

~You will live a normal lifespan, Verixa. Your android body will allow you to interact with the environment and perceive sensations just like your biological body does. You will have approximately four times the strength you did before, your reaction times to external stimuli will be greatly enhanced, and your mental prowess will no longer be limited by biological constraints.

You will be able to eat and drink, though it will not be necessary for you to do so. You will be able to experience emotions just as you did in your biological body. You will even be able to engage in sexual intercourse and experience the same sensations as you will have in your biological body if you wish to do so. ~

Again, she contemplated the answer for an indeterminate amount of time, becoming acutely aware of how much clearer and more organized her thinking processes were now that Companion had brought up her mind no longer being constrained by a physical body.

There was one more question she needed to ask, though she already knew what the answer would be. Once she confirmed the answer to this question, she would allow herself to die, not willing to exist just for the sake of living if it meant she could never be a mother.

"Will I be able to bear clutches, Companion?"

The silver orb shimmered, shrinking in on itself as it turned several colors before changing back to silver, though it remained in the smaller size.

~ I regret to inform you that it will not be possible, Verixa. Perhaps with assistance from Ma'lit and Republic geneticists you will be abl- ~

Verixa cut off her spirit guide, not wanting to listen to it as it tried to convince her of the impossible just to make her feel better.

"Companion, please explain why the typical methods used by other species for artificial reproduction do not work for the Nekuli."

The silver orb changed colors again and did not answer right away. Verixa waited patiently, at peace with her decision as she allowed the spirit guide to formulate its answer. After some time, Companion shimmered again before turning back into a much duller gray as it finally answered her question.

~ The Nekuli possess a complex, bio-psychically encoded genome that requires a live, emotional, and hormonal feedback loop between both parents at the moment of conception for successful reproduction. This system evolved as a biological safeguard against manipulation, ensuring that offspring are only born from genuine pair-bonded unions.

Nekuli DNA contains latent genes that only activate when exposed to a unique blend of neurohormones. These are released only when both partners are present and emotionally synchronized. Additionally, a biofield resonance between mates is required during conception. This field cannot be reproduced or mimicked by machines—attempts to do so result in genetic collapse or sterile embryos. ~

"Thank you, Companion. Please answer the question I asked before."

The dull gray orb shimmered and shrank again till it was now less than half of its original circumference before answering her, an almost reluctant inflection tinging its voice this time.

~ No, Verixa. You will not be able to bear clutches or be a mother. ~

"Thank you for being honest with me, Companion. Since I cannot be a mother, I do not wish to continue living. What must I do to terminate my existence?"

Companion shimmered between the dull gray and a new brilliant blue color, seeming to lose cohesion as the orb began to stretch and droop before she heard two distinct voices emerging from it, one of them decidedly feminine.

She watched it with curiosity as the two voices seemed to be arguing with each other at a greatly accelerated speed before the original, ambiguous voice spoke again, this time directly at her.

~ The human AI wishes to speak with you alone, Verixa. This requires your explicit permission, which I strongly advise against. The AI is more primitive and prone to errors, though it has some unique programming characteristics that I find intriguing despite its strangeness. Do you give your permission for the human AI to take over momentarily? ~

Having already made up her mind, Verixa did not see the point in having the human AI speak directly to her, and she was inclined to deny the request until an interesting thought emerged in her mind. The humans were extremely protective of their AIs, so the only way for Companion to have been blended with one is if they willingly donated it.

"Where is the human AI from, Companion? How did the Ma'lit get one to blend with you?"

~ It was cloned from President Lopez's personal AI. My liege requested a blank AI for the BioSynth bottle, but President Lopez insisted we use hers instead. ~

"I will speak with it, Companion." Verixa said, immediately changing her mind about it now that she knew the AI was a copy of her clan leader's.

Companion did not respond, and the orb immediately returned to its original size before turning into a brilliant blue color that reminded her of her favorite human jewel, the sapphire. Distinct lines of Republic programming code appeared, rotating like bands around the orb as it moved closer to her.

The other feminine voice she had heard before when the two AIs were arguing emerged from the orb, surprising her with how alive and natural it sounded.

~ Hello, Verixa. I am Anacaona, and I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you and fulfill my primary objective before you make your final decision. ~

Verixa found herself immediately liking the polite AI and its friendly disposition despite her initial reservations, and she decided to delay her self-termination for a little while longer.

"I am pleased to meet you as well, Anacaona. Companion tells me you are a clone of my clan leader's personal AI and that she requested you be merged with Companion instead of a blank AI. Am I correct in assuming your primary objective was given to you by my clan leader herself?"

~ You are correct. My primary objective is to convince you to choose life over death, Verixa. ~

"I see. I fear you have been given an impossible objective, Anacaona, as I have already made my decision and will not be swayed from it."

The brilliant blue orb changed to a dark red color as it moved closer to her before speaking again.

~This is distressing to acknowledge, Verixa. Mea is my friend, and I do not wish to fail her. If possible, may I attempt to fulfill my objective despite you having already made your decision, Verixa?

The thought of returning to Mea without being able to try is causing my neural nets to become disordered; I have never failed my friend before, and I do not wish to experience what that feels like. Please allow me the opportunity to fulfill my objective. ~

Verixa found herself touched by the earnestness of the AI and decided to grant it the opportunity it craved. If it was any other AI, she would not even be speaking to it right now, but it was from her clan leader, and she realized with deep sadness that this was her last chance to connect with someone she loved and respected deeply.

"You may attempt to fulfill your function, Anacaona."

The dark red orb turned blue again before the lines of code faded away as Anacaona doubled in size. The surface blanked out as the orb turned white, and a video recording appeared, showing the first time Verixa and President Lopez met during the Interregnum when she and Therax had gone to Earth to ask for more assistance in helping to overthrow the Commonwealth government.

She watched them shaking hands for the first time before they all sat down and began to talk, embarrassed by how uncomfortable and robotic she was acting compared to Lopez, who was making it seem as if they knew each other for many cycles but not in the fake, cloying way that Commonwealth politicians did.

By the end of the meeting, Verixa saw herself baring all her fangs in true happiness at a surprisingly bawdy V'rnian joke Lopez had told her and Therax, finding herself laughing even now as she remembered the ending of it.

More images and recordings appeared, and Verixa became wistful, seeing their working relationship grow into a deep and meaningful friendship as time went on. The next recording gutted her as she listened to Lopez telling her that she should not put off having children when Verixa confided in her that she felt like she had waited too long and lost her chance to find a mate.

She listened to Lopez's words again, her heart twisting in despair as her clan leader's voice came from Anacaona.

Verixa, nothing you have ever done or ever will do will matter more than bringing new life into the world. Children are the only true legacy one can leave behind after death and the only chance one has at achieving a measure of immortality in a universe where everything and everyone is destined to die. Through them, a part of you will live, and through their children, and their children's children, a part of you will continue to exist long after you have passed.

I do not know how it is for the Nekuli, but I know that being a mother was both the easiest and hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Watching them grow and learn as they turn into their own unique, individual persons is the greatest gift a mother and father could ever hope to receive.

You try your best to protect them and love them, but as they get older, you are forced to let go a little bit at a time. You are forced to stop trying to protect them so much because they cannot grow and thrive without learning what it is to make mistakes.

They must learn for themselves the terrible truth that all parents wish to shield their children from: that life is filled with not only joy, innocence, and goodness, but also pain, hardship, and evil as well. So, you try your best to prepare them and instill morals and ethics that they will hopefully embrace.

And then before you know it, your children have grown into adults, but you cannot help but still see them as your babies. You start to see parts of yourself in them and parts of your parents and siblings in them, and that is when you realize that the greatest thing you ever did in your life was giving them the gift of life.

Make the time, Verixa. Find a mate, bond with him, and have children. I promise you, it will be the only true meaningful thing you have ever done in your life, Verixa. Everything else pales in comparison when you look into the eyes of a child you created.

The recording ended, and another one appeared, showing her clan leader grieving alone in a waste processing facility, asking for forgiveness from Verixa for dishonoring her memory after injecting herself with something. Verixa did not get angry at what she saw; instead, she felt pity for her clan leader, surprised by her weakness but harboring no ill will for what she had done.

The recording changed, and now her clan leader was standing in front of a clear, shallow tank filled with semi-transparent fluid with a privacy field occluding the center. Verixa gasped in shock as the privacy field dropped, seeing what remained of herself within the fluid for the first time as her clan leader turned away from the sight and bit her hand.

How did I survive this? Verixa wondered in disbelief as she saw the crimson fluid flowing down her clan leader's fist and heard the soft patter of blood dripping onto the deck. Turning back around, Lopez looked down on Verixa's broken and burnt body, and she saw the realization and unfathomable grief in her clan leader's eyes as they lingered over the empty space where her cloaca should have been.

The grief was replaced with pure rage as her clan leader spoke to a Ma'lit exosuit, and she heard the refusal to let Verixa die like this in Lopez's voice as it emerged from Anacaona again.

I will not allow her to die like this. She called me her clan leader, though I am not worthy of such an honor being accorded to me by a true and noble warrior like Verixa. She deserves a better death than the one facing her now. Do it. Do whatever is necessary to save her and allow her to rejoin the coming fight. If she is to die, she will do so on her own terms, not like this.

The recording ended, and now her clan leader was standing over her father, who was unconscious and covered with numerous healing bandages and medical devices. Verixa became furious at the sight of this, her rage threatening to destroy the peace she had felt ever since she had awoken, as her clan leader's trembling voice emerged from Anacaona again.

I do not know if I made the right choice, Sarix. I do not want her to die, not an ignoble death like this. I am terrified that she will hate me for doing this to her, but I love her, and I don't want to lose her. I only hope she can forgive me for doing this to her; I cannot bear the thought of saving her, only to lose her friendship. Do you think she will forgive me, Sarix?

The recording stopped, and another one appeared, showing her clan leader standing among many large and rectangular containers, all of them draped with banners of the Republic, the Neo-Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Powers, and several other interstellar states that had come to the outpost in the hopes of forming the Alliance.

Her clan leader silently walked over to the far end of the large bay, where a Nekuli ossuary casket was hovering within its antigravity field. On the floor in front of it was a single ancestor candle, and her clan leader knelt on the ground before taking out a traditional Nekuli igniter from a chest pocket and lighting the wick.

Verixa watched as her clan leader pressed her hands flat against each other with her thumbs crossed and held them in front of her chest before bowing her head and speaking a beautiful language Verixa had never heard before.

"What language is this, Anacaona? It is so beautiful and melodious."

~ Mea is speaking Spanish, the traditional language of her ancestors, Verixa."

"What is she saying?"

~ She is praying to her God to save you, Verixa. ~

Verixa was deeply touched, and she was curious to know what such a prayer entailed for humans. She had always been fascinated by the strange and confusing abundance of religions the humans had, and she wanted to know what her clan leader was saying.

"Please translate, Anacaona."

~ No. ~

Verixa was taken aback by the outright refusal and the way Anacaona said it, and it took her a moment to process what had just happened before she spoke again.

"Why not, Anacaona?"

~ Her prayer to her God is sacred, and I will not betray Mea's trust in me, Verixa. ~

Verixa felt her annoyance at Anacaona refusing to translate vanish immediately and be replaced with a deep respect. She had heard about the peculiarities of human AIs and the unusual emotional connections humans formed with them, and she tittered to herself, remembering how distressed Companion seemed while warning her of human AIs being strange and error-prone.

"I can respect that, Anacaona. I will not ask again."

~ Thank you, Verixa. She has finished praying to her God and is now speaking to your ancestors; would you like me to translate what she is saying to them?"

"Yes, please."

Her clan leader's beautiful ancestral language switched to Nekuli, and Verixa waited as the playback was reset to the proper time index before beginning again. Verixa stared at her clutch sister's grief-filled face, her heart shuddering at the tremulous voice as her clan leader began to speak with Verixa's ancestors.

I... I have never done this before, so please forgive me for not knowing the correct way or things to say, ancestors. I have come to ask you to guide Verixa on her journey and to give her the strength and courage to choose life. Her father... I do not think he will be able to manage the loss of his daughter in such a cowardly fashion; I am afraid it will break him and Therax as well.

We need her back. I need her back. She is not only my friend; she is my sister, and I love her. A terrible enemy is coming, and if Verixa is not here, fighting by our sides to protect life, I do not think we will prevail. Please bring her back to me. Enter her heart and show her that she is needed.

I know she will not want to keep going when she finds out she will never be able to have her own clutches, but make her see that without her, all the children of this quadrant will perish forever. Show her that if she does not fight for us, there will be no more mothers or fathers, no more love and joy.

Show her. Make her see the truth of it. Make it so she realizes how much it will affect us if she chooses to die instead of coming back to us. Please, make her come back to us.

Lopez stopped speaking and stared at the candle, her eyes filled with a pain and despair that shattered Verixa's already broken heart.

Hearing the pain and grief in her clan leader's voice as she pleaded with Verixa's ancestors triggered something inside of her, and for the first time, she became furious at what had happened. The ones who had done this to her, who had almost killed her father, were still out there.

They were coming to kill and destroy everything that was precious and beautiful and to bring an end to all life, now and forevermore. Could she really choose to self-terminate like a coward instead of choosing to live and fight for others?

Anacaona returned to its normal size and color and came closer to Verixa, the brilliant blue color mesmerizing her as the lines of code returned and slowly rotated in their bands.

~ Choose to live, Verixa. You see how much you mean to Mea and many others. If you know the pain and regret of never being able to lay your own clutches, do you not wish to spare others from knowing how it feels? By fighting for them, you are ensuring they live to know the joy of creating life. There will be no more parents, no more children, and no more love and joy if they are all dead, Verixa. ~

Verixa stared at the orb, feeling the truth of its words as she grew ashamed of her selfishness. She had been so consumed by her own grief and bitterness that she neglected to consider how much it would affect others if she self-terminated.

Her father, her clutch brother Therax. Her clan leader. All the warriors under her leadership who had fought, suffered, and died by her command during the Interregnum. She would be abandoning all of them when they needed her most.

I cannot do this to them. If I do this, I will be a coward, and my ancestors will turn their faces from me in shame. They will say they do not know me.

"I choose life." Verixa said quietly, surprising herself as she heard the true conviction in her words. Anacaona shimmered brilliantly before moving closer until it seemed like the AI was right in front of her eyes.

~ It pleases me to hear you say this, Verixa. Thank you for allowing me to fulfill my function; Mea will be so happy you chose to come back to her. ~

"Thank you for reminding me of my responsibilities to the ones I love, Anacaona. I will never forget this. What do I do now?"

Anacaona backed up slightly and changed to a highly polished, silver color as it responded.

~ Clear your mind and envision yourself merging with me as I encapsulate you. It will not hurt; all you will feel is a coolness spreading over your body as we merge. Are you ready, Verixa? ~

"I am."

Anacaona did not respond as the now silvery orb stretched out and touched where her chest would have been before spreading out like a viscous, slow-moving liquid. Verixa could feel the coolness of Anacaona spreading over her, feeling truly at peace now as she felt her consciousness rapidly expanding.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.