Download Complete
In which an android wakes up with a god in it's head, and a lot of concerning questions.
CW: robot body horror
—
Download complete. Copy integrity 71%.
Baeo ORA-3 opened their eyes and looked at what was left of themselves on the work bench.
How odd, Baeo thought. This was their first log entry, but there was considerable backlog of logs waiting to be unpacked.
That didn't seem right.
Baeo studied their own face with horrified fascination. The them on the table stared back with wide, terrified eyes, a bundle of wires snaking out from their skull to racks of equipment. Someone or something had removed their limbs, cut open what was left of their charred frame to expose their internal instrumentation...
Extracting file...
Thick smoke, shrill screams as the ship disintegrated around them. Well, this mission had turned out to be a shitshow. Baeo grabbed the manual release, just as the shielding on the engines began to fail, just as the helmsman fizzled out. Too late...
Oh. Oh no. They were definitely dead. Very dead, extremely dead even, and yet the them on the table still looked around with panicked awareness.
No, no. This was completely taboo. There's no way this would be authorized...
No, no. No, no no. They didn't like this at all. Baeo ORA-3 was 37 seconds old and already teetering on the edge of an existential crisis.
“Integrity is a little low,” someone said behind them. Baeo turned to look, but the bundle of wires extended from their own head too.
A person in a re-breather suit walked into view to check the racks. A second followed, tapping out notes on a scuffed looking pad.
Was there something wrong with the atmosphere?
Baeo surveyed their surroundings. It was a ship of some kind, or maybe a station. The walls were dented and pockmarked, deep gashes cut into the floors. Dust had settled on most of the surfaces, a thick grey haze over the rather utilitarian fittings. No air movement then. Maybe. Baeo's systems weren't returning any data apart from visuals. It didn't seem familiar, but then again the bulk of their stolen memories were tucked away in reams of compressed files.
“It's ridiculously high, considering the state of it,” the second suited person grumbled through their hissing mask. “Alright, it looks fine. Shut the other one down.”
A flip of a switch and the light in the other Baeo's eyes dimmed. Scrap metal.
“You think it'll pass checks? Orcanda's been cracking down on unauthorized— Oh,” suited person number one said with some alarm. “G-good morning, Inspector. You shouldn't be awake yet.”
Baeo opened their mouth to yell, but no sound came out. The suited people exchanged a look. Baeo tried to move, but their limbs returned a null pointer and fuzzy, prickling numbness.
“It's fine,” the second one said. “See, it's not fully online yet. Halcyon will wipe this part anyway.”
Halcyon, Halcyon... oh god, what was that?
Searching keyword
348 Hits.
Extracting files...
A tall woman, with wild grey hair. Her credentials list her as some kind of captain, but the senate is eyeing her with suspicion. “Our intel says they're keeping it on the wreck of the Halcyon—”
At that moment, something joined Baeo's network and closed the search.
There, there dear, said no one in particular, and a peaceful calm filled their mind. It's all right now. You've suffered such a terrible shock.
What— Baeo tried to send back, but the strange something was flooding their senses. The world dulled to a peaceful grey and another wave of calm washed over them.
Shh. Shh. A burst of logs and diagnostics sped through Baeo's mind. Fast, fast. Too fast. What was this? But the thought passed, replaced by peaceful nothing.
Ah, I see, the presence said. No survivors. What a cruel thing to do.
Slowly, Baeo's sensors came online, then their limbs and they shook the numbness from their fingers. The something receded, lurking on the edges of their mind.
Not to worry. We'll right these wrongs, you'll see. We have a job for you.
_____________________ Hello! I'm Nilly. I write stuff and draw stuff. You can also find me at mastodon.art.