The Core: The Hive Daughter

5. Adopting a star eater

My trip out through the tunnel of my new base was quick and I even spent a few moments near the entrance to form a door to keep sloth leeches out. It wasn't anything impressive, I simply instructed my cr to dig into the surrounding matter and to cut out a round door that could be rolled into place.

I swung over to the egg and once again was drawn in by the slow pulses as it continually drew in energy from the ancient star. Invicta assured me that there was very little I could do to harm it, both in this inactive form and once it hatched. Haha, she was silly. I was more thankful that it couldn't harm me.

I spread out my mixed cr around the large egg and once again thought of home. My older brother would have loved to be here doing this instead of me. This was more his kind of thing. All throughout our childhood, he had been the one to always keep and tame exotic pets. Snakes, lizards, scorpions to name just a few. What would he say if he could see me hugging an egg the size of a van and trying to lift it out of a sun?

It would blow his mind. - I grinned at the thought as I hefted the egg, freeing it from its age-old home. I had to rotate my vision around and to carry the massive thing on my back because I couldn't see through it while holding it in front of me. It continued to pulse steadily while I carried it upwards and out of the star.

Catching up to the habitat was interesting. It was my first time using just my hud to guide me and it was really hard to see a speeding habitat against the vastness of space and the blinding light of the blue dwarf.

In the end, I did manage to get us home. It just took a couple of extra moments while I chased it around the equator of the sun after I totally missed it speeding by.

"Looks like they are expecting us," I commented to Invicta when I noticed that the side nearest us had withdrawn the cr, making a large entryway into the cargo hold.

"Yeah, I have been telling Tutor about your crazy driving the whole time. George keeps telling us to "Leave the boy alone." but this is just too good to not have fun with." She said before making a zooming sound that trailed off into the distance.

"Yes, yes, I missed it... a couple of times. Sue me. It was like trying to spot a mosquito while driving past at 90 miles an hour."

"You just wanted to try it because that is how they do it in movies back on earth. Well, out here, it is always left up to AI to accomplish. Or just maybe you will drop all your previously learned nonsense and understand this one key fact. Isn't all the cr of the habitat yours?" She asked pointedly.

I had done it again. I had forgotten that I wasn't truly a human man living inside a spacesuit. I was instead a mind that was part of a digital system. I could have done what Magus the 2nd had done back inside his residence. He had transferred his mind into the massive construct to feed the captive Leva offspring. I could have done that and left instructions to have my body and rescued egg delivered perfectly while I was busy doing other things.

"Thanks, Invicta. I think I am getting it now. At least a little bit more than before."

"I know. Just take it slow ok? I think I understand why Tutor is slow about teaching you this knowledge. It is an easy way for you to forget who you are. I don't fully understand all the things that she does but she says that we can't let you lose who you came here as. It is the most precious part of you. I trust her and George completely. They are a rarity of AI, they are both solely yours and focused on helping you achieve whatever you will."

This revelation made me make a mental note to have a long talk with Tutor in the future.

I entered the cargo hold and gently set the massive egg down, creating a cradle to secure it to the deck while in transit. The hull of the habitat fluidly swept back into place once it was secure.