URGENT TRANSMISSION
SRC: LT. FOUR
RCPT: CPT. GATES
MSG: Gates, everything's gone to hell. We've encountered a hostile alien species, it's intelligent and dangerous. Warn every planet you can, IMC or Militia, I don't care; humanity is at stake here, not just us. Everything.
KT and I are following a plan set in place to destroy it. Get everyone clear of this sector of the frontier, it spreads far and fast. Once we're done, I'll rendezvous with you at Harmony.
I don't have time for anything else right now, we need to go. Just be aware, and stay safe.
...
He finished the message, and leaned back in the chair with a nervous sigh. He felt twitching, and looked down to see that his hands were shaking involuntarily. Taking in a deep breath to hopefully steady himself, he lifted himself out of is seat and made his way toward the hangar.
In the hangar, KT stood around different monitoring systems as Al'cor stirred feebly on a nearby gurney. There wasn't any real infirmary on the ship, just some medical supplies and the transport gurney they were situated on now. Without knowing more about their anatomy, he couldn't do much for the Architect; that said, he had managed to bandage up the chest area with some work, and at least they weren't heavily bleeding anymore.
Having gotten a closer examination of the 'skin', he was sure that the white of their body was definitely organic and a part of them; but it wasn't truly flesh or muscle like a human's. Instead, it felt more like a mixture of plastic and rubber. If it was true, then that meant that they were 'naked', but he couldn't see any signs of reproductive organs, or sensory organs like eyes and ears. It made him believe that perhaps the Architects were far more advanced not just technologically, but evolutionarily as well. The telepathy Al'cor used was a good indicator that they'd transcended physical limitations when it came to voice; maybe that had been true for other aspects as well.
In any matter, they were alive. Against all odds, he'd managed to pull it off. It made him feel slightly less awful about the situation, knowing that he'd at least managed to save one person from death.
KT looked over at him. "The monitors show that the planet has now surrounded itself with several large objects that weren't there before we left."
"What kind of objects?" he asked.
She blinked. "They're of varying sizes, but they're massive. All are bigger than a standard moon, and moving independently. Scans are uncertain, but they appear to be liquid based with an outer shell of some kind."
He sighed. "We'll ask Al'cor about that when they wake up."
KT moved away from the monitors and stood next to him, now also staring at the white being. "So, this was the Inferno before you? The one who made you become it?"
"Yeah."
KT's voice became a little colder. "So, I have them to thank for you being tortured for two years."
His eyes flashed warningly. "KT, that was my choice. I'm sorry for how it turned out, but I don't regret it. If I hadn't been there and allowed you all to find the location of Typhon, Harmony would be chunks of rock in space."
The Vanguard huffed. "That doesn't excuse them from their actions. They gave you a burden that should have never been yours to bear."
He had no response to that. Had it never been his to bear? The way they phrased it, it almost seemed as though Al'cor had specifically chosen him for this.
Shaking his head, he tossed that line of thought aside. They had more important things to focus on at the moment.
"Look, we need to get to that first array world. But that portal back on the planet was the only sure way to get there, and obviously it's not an option anymore." He sighed, and crossed his arms. "I'm sure that Al'cor knows, but they're unconscious and I'd rather not risk their condition any more than we have to."
KT was silent for a moment, then turned towards a flat section of the wall. Her eye lit up with a holographic projection, and pictures of the charts from the spire materialized. "While you were swapping between timelines, I made sure to get records of everything, including these. Think they'll help?"
His eyes widened, and he jumped into action. "Goddamn, I love you Kay. I can use these charts to reverse engineer some coordinates the navigation system can understand!"
He quickly went over to some supply cabinets to grab a paper and pen. Bringing them back to the wall, he placed it against the side and began to write down what he saw in a translated set of coordinates the computers would understand.
KT hummed warmly. "I'll never get tired of hearing you say that."
He froze only for a moment, and then continued to work as he felt his face grow a bit warm. Behind him, he could hear a synthetic chuckle.
"Your body temperature is fluctuating Tobias, specifically in your countenance. Everything alright?"
"Not the time, Kay," he muttered under his breath. She gave another hum.
With one final look between the projected charts on the wall and his paper, he gave a victory nod. "Alright, I think I've got it. I'm going to punch these coordinates into the nav terminal, and see what happens." With a resigned shrug at the Titan, he turned and ran towards the bridge.
She watched him leave, and turned back towards the monitoring systems. After a few minutes, she heard the ship begin to prepare itself for a warp-space jump.
She also heard the sounds of movement.
Turning quickly around, she was relieved to see that it was just the Architect moving as they began to wake up. She waited for them to gain awareness of surroundings, and felt some odd sort of satisfaction upon seeing Al'cor's head turn from side to side in confusion.
Maybe Tobias was right, but that didn't mean that she had to like them.
The Architect spied her standing there, and tilted their head curiously. You must be KT.
Well, there went her satisfaction and her advantage of surprise. "How do you know my name?"
I have seen into Tobias' mind several times. They gestured towards the Titan with a slight nod of their head. You are usually at the head of his thoughts. He thinks of you often.
While that was almost flattering in a sense, it also put the Titan off guard. In any matter, she was uncomfortable talking to the being alone. Not to mention that she was unnerved by the voice in her head. Was that what speech through a neural link sounded like? She wasn't a fan.
"Tobias, your guest is awake," she spoke over the comms, opting to avoid the neural link transmissions for a while. There wasn't enough room in his head for two telepathic voices.
"Sooner than expected. I'll be right there."
It was another minute of awkward silence before the sound of his footsteps could be heard from the door that led into the rest of the ship. He came into sight a moment later, his helmet absent for the time being. He looked awful, with bags under his eyes and a general emptiness to his facial expression. She hadn't realized just how badly he might need some rest.
Apparently, it could wait. He waved awkwardly at Al'cor. "Hey."
They stared at him. How am I still alive? I told you to leave me.
He sighed. "Yeah, I know. But that's not my MO, not anymore. Despite all the 'your heart is good' stuff you told me, I wasn't always-"
I'm aware of who you used to be, Al'cor interrupted, but it matters not. What matters is who you are now.
He raised an eyebrow. "You know my past?"
They nodded. I searched far into the potential futures for someone who would have relevance to the cause, as well as someone whose intentions were pure. There is no doubt that I made the right choice.
So, the Architect had chosen him for this. Somehow, it made him feel a little special. "Alright. Well, then you can understand why I didn't leave you."
They looked down at their body, and the makeshift bandaging that Tobias had done. He winced at the shoddy craft. "Yeah, I don't really know much concerning your bodily functions, so I was a bit hesitant to work on you. The good news is that I stopped most of the bleeding."
They shook their head. It was not my blood that spilled from me, but my essence.
"Essence?"
Al'cor nodded. My kind have exceeded physical limitations of pure existence in three dimensions. Our true selves are contained in these physical bodies we create, so we can interact in more primitive ways with reality; however, our methods of communication, reproduction, and other general being is done on a higher plane.
So he was right, there weren't any physical limitations for them like there were for humans. But the idea of literally losing pieces of yourself, as it appeared that Al'cor had been, was a humbling thought.
That brought something of interest to his mind. "Wait ... if you're not completely physical, how do the Amalgamates infect you?"
Their voice became a bit more venomous when speaking of the creatures. Our true selves are still tied to these bodies, as evidenced by my near death. It is akin to dream-walking. If our physical forms die, so do we. And our physical bodies can still be emptied.
"Emptied? Do you mean infected?"
The shook their head. The Amalgamates are not inherently the method of contamination, only the vessel. It is the ichor inside them, a liquid organism that truly gives the Amalgamates life. It empties your body of its blood and organs, and takes control of its nervous system, converting it to the same frequency as the Seed so it can be controlled. It is more than enough to keep you alive in spite of the loss of your vitals; but there's no hope of recovery.
Well, that was certainly more horrifying than what he'd been expecting.
Attempting to change the subject to lighter conversation, he clasped his hands together. "Well, we're on our way to the first array world now. Should be a few hours, give or take. Mind if I know you a little better?"
Al'cor questioned, By what do you mean?
He shrugged. "You've been a large part of my life for over two and a half years now, but I know next to nothing about you. For example, your sex. Your voice doesn't really sound masculine or feminine in my head, it's like-" He waved his hand around as he tried to come up with apt words to describe it. "-it's like the words you're saying just drop right into my mind, like I thought them up even though I know I didn't. So it's a bit hard to tell, you know?"
They stared at him blankly. I am female. I forgot you had no knowledge of how to determine my kind's gender.
He nodded jokingly. "Yeah, with humans it's pretty easy; you just look down under, and there you go. But I get the feeling that that's not the case with you, is it?"
No. We use other senses and means.
He wasn't certain he wanted to pursue the topic of alien genders any more, so he dropped it. But he was glad that now he could start thinking of Al'cor as a 'her' instead of an 'it'.
KT gave an impatient sigh. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way, perhaps we could move on to more important things."
Tobias gave her a warning look, but Al'cor was impossible to read. Finally, the Architect spoke; I'm sorry.
That caught her off guard. "What?"
Al'cor repeated, I'm sorry.
For what it was worth, she seemed genuine. KT tried to refine her question. "What are you sorry for?"
She sighed. I am aware what consequences my actions wrought in making Tobias the Inferno. His capture, and his imprisonment. The only person who could have been just as impacted by his pain as he was ... is you.
KT shifted slightly, visibly in discomfort. "I cannot be compared to Tobias; I'm just a machine. My emotions are programmed."
Tobias gave a pained look. "KT, c'mon-"
But Al'cor wasn't done. Yes, you are a war-machine built by human hands. Just as Tobias is a survival-machine, crafted by nature and evolution. She looked between the two of them as though to signify their relation to one another. The materials of which you are made of are irrelevant; what matters is that you are sapient. You must be, or else you would be unable to hear me, which means that your feelings are just as important as his or mine.
She waved a hand at the Pilot. His emotions are programmed by hormones and chemical reactions, yours by wires and circuits. But that does not make one superior to the other.
At this, she lowered her head in sorrow. Therefore, I know what a great deal of pain I must have caused you during your separation from him. While I still maintain that my actions were necessary, that does not mean that they were right. I am sorry.
All of the pent up anger that KT had held for the previous Inferno suddenly vanished, and she felt herself ease up as tension left her body. Now, she didn't feel happy; but she wasn't depressed either. It was more of a bittersweet resignation that what had happened could not be changed, and an acceptance of the Architect's apology.
"Kay, you alright?"
She looked over to see Tobias staring at her with a worried expression, and she could understand his concern. Whenever this topic came up, both of them tended to get ... sensitive, to a degree. Perhaps it was time to move past that.
"Yes, I'm fine. But you should get some rest before we land, you look like a ghost," she chided.
He smirked, and waved dismissively. "I can sleep when I'm dead."
If you are not rested, you may very well end up in that state, chimed in Al'cor. Please, rest.
"You heard the superior race," KT jested. "Go lie down or something. We'll let you know when we land."
He gave her a withering stare, but conceded. "Alright, fine. But if something happens, wake me."
With that, he left to go sit in the pilot's chair, so he could stare at the stars while he fell asleep. Who knew the how much longer they'd be able to enjoy such a serene view?