Kirrik could tell by the looks on the other's faces that they were less than pleased by Imi's revelation. He never liked to reveal her state as an android unless the situation desperately called for it. There were only two people that knew Imi's secret in the entire galaxy, and one of them was no longer alive. The Kunar gave them no choice, however. It was either to use Imi and her skills to their advantage or end up as scorch marks on an asteroid.
"Are there any other secrets you two have been hiding?" Diah accused, her voice dripping in distrust.
"No one knows about Imi except us, and I would prefer it to stay that way," Kirrik stated.
Diah crossed her arms and gave them both a doubtful glare. Imi responded by removing her jacket and using it to cover her exposed mechanics. She clicked slightly with every move.
"Sounds like that ice got deep in there," Kirrik said, leaning toward her.
"I can fix it," Imi replied. "I'll need some time alone in my quarters."
She looked at each of the Nova's three passengers.
"I'll answer any questions you have when I return. For now, just keep your thoughts to yourself."
Imi took off into the hallway and down the right pathway. Kirrik tipped an imaginary hat to the trio and followed after her. She moved with an unusual sense of urgency.
"You okay?" Kirrik called after her as they reached the cockpit.
Imi stopped and tilted her head toward him but kept her body facing forward. Her bangs fell in front of her eyes again. Kirrik thought she looked oddly shameful. He reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder. She pulled away from it.
"What's the status of the Nova?" She deflected.
"Uh, two engines on the right down," Kirrik recalled. "Low power from ion cannon usage. Comms took a hit in one of the blasts. I'd say we're running at about forty-percent efficiency, if that."
Imi closed her eyes and stood silent for a brief second.
"So that means we can make it another fifteen, maybe twenty parsecs if we're lucky," She calculated. Her eyes opened. "Nowhere near enough to get to Vensha. Is there a place nearby we can repair?"
Kirrik hesitated. He knew the system they were in like the back of his hand, but he didn't want to admit it. The ghosts of the past seemed to haunt every corner, every planet, every star. He scratched his hand instinctively.
"Yeah, I can get us a place," He finally responded. "There's someone I know on Locarian, about five 'secs out from where we are. A friend."
"The junk planet?" Imi queried. "I guess, if it gets us back on track."
She continued her walk down the hallway and into the room at the end. Kirrik stood and watched, unsure of what Imi might be thinking. He reached his hand out again, wanting to call out to her, then ran it along his hair.
'Hopefully the next conversation goes better,' He thought.
_________________________________
Imi let the door behind her close with a click before letting out a muted groan. Her hands shook in frustration. She stepped forward to the center of her room and sat in a bolted-down red chair. It whirred and ticked as two small needle-tipped appendages began grafting new synthetic skin across her.
She pictured the look Diah had given her. Something about it set off every anger synapse in her system. It reeked of disgust and judgment.
'Typical, given her background,' Imi fumed. 'I saved her and not even so much as a thanks.'
The chair buzzed to let Imi know it was done with the repairs. She stretched her arm out and rotated it around. Calibrations ran across every recreated point. Everything was perfectly aligned. She ran her fingers along her neck and cheek. It was like the wounds were never there.
Imi thought about how she wanted to approach the situation. The others would clearly have a lot of questions for her. She didn't blame them. The issue was whether or not they would believe anything she said. A light went off in her mind. She reached toward the back of her neck and traced her finger up to the fringe of her hairline, finding the implant mark of her MenXhip. As an android, it was housed in a specialized casing to operate properly with all of her other systems. She pressed against the case, ejecting the chip into her hand.
Imi pulled the chip, only one millimeter wide, up to her eyes and scanned it. It was so small, but the impact it could have on Atania was bigger than anyone could ever know. She hid a few files deep beneath the chip's main infrastructure. The others didn't need to learn everything quite yet.
____________________________________
"What do you mean we need to take a detour?" Diah shouted at Kirrik from across the table.
First was the attack by the Kunar. Next was Imi's big secret. Then, Kirrik decided to detour to another planet instead of heading directly to Vensha like she was promised. Diah was past the point of frustration. She was over it all.
"Listen," Kirrik calmly explained. "The Nova took a lot of damage in that fight. She's a tough ship, but she's hurting a bit. If we don't stop and fix her up, she won't make it anywhere near Vensha. I don't want to stop either, but we don't have a choice."
Zaius scooted closer to Diah's side and leaned in.
"I get what Kirrik's saying," He added. "This could be a good chance to try and get in touch with your mom. Maybe we can figure out why the Kunar have been after you."
"Why can't we message now?" Diah asked, glancing between Kirrik and Zaius.
Kirrik shuffled in his seat a bit.
"The comms systems are gone. Nothing in or out," He answered.
"And there's no fixing it at all without stopping?" Diah pushed further. Her frustration started to break through. She needed to get home as soon as she could.
'Aw, are you worried about me?' Wyrna's voice whispered from the back of her mind.
"Diah, I can look at the systems if it makes you feel better," Sky offered from the bench. "I can't fix anything that's already broken, though."
Diah reached inside to find her center and pulled herself back together. Her head dipped as she tried to process everything she was feeling. Fear and anxiety were running rampant on her emotions. The Kunar chasing her added a whole new unknown element to her already stressful kidnapping. She thought she could breathe once they left Tovarro, but now she knew there wouldn't be a chance until she was back on Vensha.
"What's with the group chat?" Imi's voice chimed in from the doorway.
Diah's head snapped up. The last thing she needed was more of Imi's presence. Her hands clutched her head. She noticed Zaius and Sky watching her in concern.
'Do they think I'm crazy for not wanting the woman who almost killed us to be around right now?' She thought.
Diah felt Zaius' hand settle between her shoulder blades. It felt comforting in the moment, like he understood what she was thinking. She tried her best to relax.
Imi crossed over and settled next to Kirrik. She played with something in her hands. Diah wasn't sure what exactly it was but it glinted in the light.
"You get a question each, then we move on like nothing ever happened," Imi offered.
Diah looked over Imi's body from across the table. Her skin was pristine. It was hard to believe that it wasn't real to begin with. Whoever built Imi had done an incredible job concealing her inner self.
"Where are you from?" Diah heard Zaius ask from next to her. She wasn't expecting to jump right into things. Imi seemed unphased.
"A group of Human scientists wanted to make robotic life capable of forming a Kanushin," Imi explained. "I was the first, and only, one they created."
"Wait," Sky interrupted. "Can you use a Kanushin?"
Imi turned to Sky in the corner.
"I can't," She answered. She put her hands out to illustrate. "Summoning a Kanushin is essentially being able to pull energy from the galaxy itself. I don't have physical sensations in my body, only emotions. Pulling from that pool of energy is difficult if I can't tell what I'm pulling, or if I'm even pulling anything at all. It's like searching for sugar in sand with gloves and a blindfold."
Diah crossed her arms.
"You said you feel emotions, but what does that even really mean?" She pushed. "Happiness? Sadness? Guilt?"
Diah saw Imi shake her head slightly and laugh to herself.
"I see you, Princess," Imi retorted.
"Not a princess," Diah spat back.
Imi smacked her lips.
"I feel every spectrum of Human emotion. I was programmed, and trained, to. I've also been through more than you could imagine. I had a whole life, a whole family, ripped from me. You know what feels really good?"
Diah stared Imi down as she placed her hands on the table and moved in. Imi gave off a sense of fierce intensity. She had clearly hit a nerve. Or at least, the android equivalent.
"Vengeance," Imi emphasized.
Kirrik put his arm in front of Imi and gently scooted her back. She whacked him in the shoulder in return. An awkward tension filled the air. Diah felt Zaius squirm uncomfortably beside her.
"Who are you after?" Zaius asked, breaking the tension. "What happened?"
Imi leaned back and kicked her feet up on the table.
"Too many questions," She stated and held up three fingers. "I said three. No more. We move on."
Diah huffed and started to bite her lip again. Android or not, Imi clearly had a hostile personality. The voice called to her again.
'Maybe you should put her in her place then,' It teased. 'How dare she talk down to you?'
Imi tossed the glinting object toward Diah, who reached out and grabbed it. As she opened her palm, she realized it was a navy MenXhip with white stripes.
"Because you still don't trust me," Imi commented, "I decided to put it all on the table. That chip has everything: my schematics, my safeties, my files. All the contacts I've made in my time as a hunter. Everything. Take it or leave it."
Sky moved faster than Diah had ever seen her. She snagged the chip from Diah's palm and held it up. A neon orange light enveloped her left iris. She giggled with glee.
"This is so cool!" Sky exclaimed. "So much information. So many things I've never seen before!"
Diah locked eyes with Imi. The latter smirked. Diah felt her eyebrow twitch.
"Fine," Diah concluded. "Keep your chip. I still don't trust you, but I won't give you any problems as long as you keep your hands to yourself."
Diah stood up and made her way toward the door. She wanted to lay in the quiet of her bunk and drift back to sleep. The left hallway wrapped around to the back engines. A hint of smoke wafted around her.
"Diah," She heard a familiar voice call to her as she reached the door to her quarters.
Zaius stood in the hall behind her, hands in his jacket pockets. His foot tapped nervously against the Nova's grated flooring.
"Kirrik says it'll be a couple of hours before we reach Locarian," He informed her. "I just wanted to check on you. Things seemed kind of tense back there."
Diah wrapped her arms around herself. Her body twisted side-to-side as she questioned how much she wanted to share. She didn't want to overwhelm him with her emotions or fears, yet felt in her heart she could. A decision needed to be made. She needed to determine how things would be moving forward and what exactly Zaius' place in her life would be. She couldn't lose someone she cared about again.
"We've gone through a lot in a short span," Diah started. "You've been with me pretty much from the beginning of this chaos. The Kunar could find us at any point, so I really wanted to say thank you. Thank you for helping me. I'm not sure what comes next, though. Right now, my mind is just a jumbled mess. I need time to unravel it."
"I understand," Zaius responded. He gave her a bright smile. "You don't have to thank me, you know. I told you, I would've saved you a hundred times over. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
He shrugged and smiled again. His softened expression pulled at Diah's heart. She watched him turn and start to walk away. She knew she was lying to herself. Diah weighed her next move. No more running.
"Zaius!" Diah yelled after him.
Zaius spun around in confusion.
"Truth be told, I'd be lying if I said I was okay," She confided. Her voice cracked a little. "It's been a lot, Zaius. Honestly? I'm scared right now."
Cracks turned to choked words.
"I'm scared of being captured again. I'm scared of being chased everywhere I go."
Choked words turned to sobs. There was no point in holding it in anymore. Zaius inched closer.
"I'm scared of my mother," Diah shared. "For my mother. For you and for Sky. I don't want anything to happen to you two because of me."
Zaius pulled Diah close and held her against him. His warmth permeated her body. Her tears stained his jacket. She could feel her hair rustle against his chin and chest. He held her tight. Tighter. Diah reciprocated.
"I can't lose you," She sobbed against him.
Zaius' hand rubbed up and down the length of her back. His scent covered the smell of smoke that lingered in her nostrils. Her heart fluttered and her breath caught. She looked up. The universe called to her.
Diah reached her hand up and ran it along Zaius' face. The warm amber of his eyes looked more golden in the Nova's light. She pulled his face toward hers. Her heart pounded. He didn't pull back.
Diah pressed her lips against his in a softened, sweet moment of bliss. It was everything she yearned for. The warmth, the embrace, and the way his lips felt made for hers. The galaxy melted and stars exploded like fireworks around them. A wave of relief washed across her.
Then the fire kicked in.
A blaze set across her heart and spread across her chest and into her stomach. As the first kiss broke, her body demanded another. She gave in, letting passion take the reigns. The second was longer, the third deeper and full of desire.
She broke off again, breathless. The skin around her face and neck burned. There was no turning back. She stared into Zaius' eyes as his chest heaved.
"I can't lose you," She said again.
Zaius put his palm against her cheek. She pressed her face against it and closed her eyes. She felt the gentle stroke of his thumb against her temple.
"You won't," Zaius asserted. "We'll get you home as soon as things are fixed. I'll always be by your side, Diah."
Zaius placed his forehead against hers.
"I promise."