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Bleedingheart station - chapter 22: The skeleton
🕑 Added 2025-02-26 19:06:39 +0000 UTC"So you remember nothing…" Garrick said, looking at Hilbert.
It wasn't really a question, and the man who he wanted to be his security officer shrugged. "Sorry, Captain. The best I can tell you is that I remember how we moved through that hallway. You said I looked at Captain Braddock, but I can't really remember that."
Garrick nodded, surprised at how calm Hilbert was, having to answer the same question again. He'd already answered it during multiple LLM inquiries and when asked by Nurse Yuri. Still, as he looked at the man who seemed normal, he couldn't help but recall the horrible, maimed, and destroyed body he'd seen a month ago.
"So… captain, no offense, but how long till you let me out of here?" Hilbert asked, waving around the medbay. He was currently on a bed, held down so he wouldn't float off, and had been for the last two days. "I can understand you have a hard time trusting me with all that Boot told me has been happening, but-" Hilbert let out a snorted laugh. "-well, I'd like to have a look at what my rejuvenated and upgraded body can do. Also, Macdewil said you are going to start moving the space station frame to where it's going to be built, and I really wanna be there for that. History and all. Captain."
Garrick quietly stared at Hilbert, knowing the man had pointed out the exact problem he was having. How was he going to trust him? The man's oddly named LLM, Boot, had worked together with Crux and the Sibilis on everything, and they were now up to a near hundred percent guarantee that there was nothing remaining of the Precursor AI… the problem was, it wasn't a hundred.
He gazed at the number hovering above Hilbert's, just beside the tag that read, 'LLM: Boot'. It read '99.9999%'.
Garrick took a deep breath before pushing away his worry. There were others on the crew who had fewer nines behind their name. He turned to Yuri, who was observing them with her piercing black eyes.
"Nurse Yuri? Is he fit for duty?"
It was a useless question as they both knew he was, but sometimes, it was good to hold on to old customs.
"Yes, Captain. Officer Excelsar is both physically and mentally as healthy as a horse."
Garrick's lips quirked.
"Hey! Did you just say I think like a horse?" Hilbert exclaimed.
"Verry well," Garrick said, ignoring the shout and Yuri's gleaming eyes. "Officier Exelsar, you are hereby reinstated into active duty. You will take up the post of security officer. That said, due to what has happened, I expect you to report to me each evening, and Boot is required to keep a constant active connection with The Sibilis. Copy?"
"Yes, Captain," a chipper voice with a slight accent agreed.
"Yes, Captain," the Sibiles said immediately after.
"Of course, Captain," Hilbert said, a massive smile on his face.
Garrick walked forward and removed the restraints, which both of them knew wouldn't have held him anyway, and Hilbert pushed himself up, stretching himself.
"Ah, I feel so great!" Hilbert said as he began flexing himself in midair.
"I've got some work to do," Garrick said. "Go and look around the changes. Also, Macdewil said to send you over as soon as you weren't in detention anymore."
"Deten- … That little brat!" Hilbert snapped before blinking and grinning at Garrick. "Sorry, Captain."
"It's fine. Now, I need to have a private word with Nurse Yuri." Garrick said. "Dismissed."
Hilbert pressed his fist against his chest and pushed himself to the door and out in a single, fluid motion. As it was closed shut, Garrick looked at Yuri.
"Captain, I fully agree with your call," Yuri said, nodding. "Except for some physical changes, I don't detect anything odd with Hilbert, and all the readings show he is fine."
"Good," Garrick said, though that wasn't what he'd wanted to discuss with her. "I've been getting even more requests by the crew to augment themselves beyond the limits we put up."
Nurse Yuri grimaced, but Garrick continued before she could speak up. She would have time to complain later.
"I want you to discuss this with your LLM Kizuna, and the Sibilis and come up with a set of rules that will allow them some of their requested modifications while keeping them and all of us… human?" Garrick frowned as he tried to put his finger on exactly what he wanted to say. Normal was what he'd almost said.
Yuri's grimace had turned into a scowl, but she sighed.
"I know you don't like this," Garrick said. "Neither do I. You know that. But… Macdewil is right. The chances of us ever returning home are almost zero. That means we need to work under the assumption that we are on our own and will need to survive. That means we will need every edge we can get. That said… I need you to make sure that we do so while remaining human. Figure out what we can and can't do and what the consequences will be, both physically and mentally. I will discuss your plan after it is done, and…we will make it a rule for the LLM."
Garrick knew he was showing a little bit too much of his own inner doubts, but he also knew that right now, with Yuri, it was needed. Her distaste for human engineering was far stronger than his.
"Permanent?" Yuri asked.
Garrick hesitated, then shook his head. "As much as I would want to say yes, we can't decide this for everyone for always. But, for now. Let's say until we are unable to move on with those rules or for the next ten years."
"So, if things get too hard, we will just allow people to turn into true cyborgs?" Yuri said, her voice tense.
Garrick looked at her, knowing why she was so angry. Yuri, someone he thought of as a friend, was also Yuri Saly Suzuki. One of the many descendants of the Japanese people who fled their homeland after the disaster that befell it. Hoping to find Solace in space, her ancestors had been snatched up by a warmongering monster. Seen as lesser, her people had been experimented on- changed to fight in the first of the Cyborg Wars. When those wars finally ended, it had taken generations for her people to lose some of the horrors that had been inflicted on them, and even now, many refused even the basic brain implant.
"Yuri," Garrick said, using her first name to get her full attention as he rarely did so outside social gatherings. "Why do you think I asked you to do this? I expect you to keep things in line, but you also need to understand something. We have no idea what will be required of us here, and there is no planet we can inhabit for atleast another few decades, after which it will take more decades, perhaps even hundreds of years, before we can create any truly easy-to-live-in city."
As he spoke, Garrick felt his distaste for AIs and human engineering fade another little bit. It was almost as if he wasn't just persuading Yuri but also his own subconscious.
Yuri looked at him, hesitated, then took a deep sigh, causing her visor to go cloudy for a moment. When it was cleared away, she looked far less upset but instead conflicted.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I should not have said that," she said. "I will follow your order, though I fear I'll fight for as little change as possible."
"I understand," Garrick said. "I do want you to keep our survival as your number one goal. Even if it means changes, you are not comfortable with. Just… as few as possible."
Garrick couldn't hold back a weak smile at that.
Yuri nodded. "Then I had better get started," she said.
"Good luck, and keep me posted," Garrick said, turning away.
As he reached the door and was about to drift out, Yuri called out, "Captain."
Turning around, Garrick saw her smile at him. "Thank you. I know you could have just ordered me… and I would have obeyed."
Garrick raised the corner of his mouth in a half smile. "Well, Senior Nurse Yuri Saly Suzuki, that's good to know. I'll do that in the future to save us both the time."
Yuri let out a high-pitched snort, then turned red.
"As you were," Garrick said, turning around and pulling himself through the door, which slid closed behind him.
--
Nearly nineteen hours of stressful work after he'd left the medbay, Garrick held onto the edge of Shuttle Seven. In front of him hung the initial scaffolding for what would be the main habitat of their space station. It was large enough to house all of them, though in tiny quarters, have a medbay and, arguably the most important part, an engineering bay. Large enough to house two of the shuttles, it would be the beating heart of the station as soon as it was up and running.
A giant ball of ice hovered behind the cobbled-together frame, a softly glowing aurora around it, while behind them was the mind-boggling big shape of the gas giant Majriti.
"It's not much yet, but give me a few more months or years," Macdewil whispered.
"Months would be best," Garrick said as he continued looking at the beautiful sight.
He'd always thought he'd get used to it quickly, but with nearly all of his time spent inside a ship, it hadn't happened. Instead, being outside, especially this close to a planet or moon, always made him appreciate how beautiful the universe could be.
"Yuri said that the new implants should be able to keep us alive," Macdewil said.
"They will," Garrick agreed. "But aren't you starting to notice your own weariness with living as we are? For some, it's worse. Yuri has told me there's been multiple of your engineers that have reached out to her just to talk."
"Right," Macdewil said, before hesitating. "That reminds me of another issue I wanted to talk about. We are going to get people who will request to be allowed personal contacts…"
"Yuri warned about the same," Garrick said, holding back a weary sigh. "I will not allow that until the base has atleast the habitat module done."
"Captain, I… that might be a year from now," Macdewil said. "Or two."
"Only if we continue as we are now," Garrick said, glancing at Madewil.
"You mean you are finally going to allow others to be woken from cryo?"
Garrick nodded as he focused on the skeleton of what would be the first and initially larget module of the space station. "We will be waking up more engineers as soon as we have the temporary quarters done."
"Finally."
Garrick didn't react to Macdewil's outburst. The other knew they had to play it safe because as much food as they had recovered, they had no way to replenish it for atleast another year or two. Until that time came, they would have to make do with what they had.
He held back a yawn, knowing it was time to head back. It wasn't surprising as he'd been awake for over twenty-four hours and working nonstop for most of them. As much as Crux was boosting his physical abilities beyond his best ever, he and all of the others needed to sleep.
"Did you name the moon yet?" he asked, his eyes glancing at the thing that would protect them from most of the radiation and potential debris.
"No… I was actually thinking of bringing it up when we return. Use the crew-wide chat and ask for opinions, then decide by popular vote," Macdewil said.
Garrick turned to him in surprise. "I thought you wanted to name it?"
"I do- did," Macdewil said as he looked back. "But I thought that it might be a good way to boost morale, and… well, let's be honest. My naming sense isn't all that great."
"You don't say," Garrick said dryly. "Very well. I think it's a great idea."
"Crux, connect me to all engineers here."
There was a soft beep, and he saw the icon change.
"Alright, everyone, it's time for you all to head back and rest. Shuttle seven will stay here to keep an eye on things while you all head back. Macdewil has a nice surprise for you all when you return," Garrick said.
There was a soft, muted cheer through the coms as the sixteen engineers. It didn't last long, and he watched as they all used their cables to return back to the Gallawan shuttles two and three.
"I'll be back in a few hours," Macdewil said. "Sleep well, Captain."
Garrick waved him off, waiting until his Lead Engineer and the rest had boarded the shuttles and set back to the runes of The Sibilis. After that, he pulled himself into Shuttle Seven and quietly waited until the decompression was done. Then he pulled himself into the rest of the shuttle where the other two that would stay here were.
Junior Nurse Sandra May Marryland was busy in the co-pilot seat, likely still working through the readings they had with her LLM.
Engineer Rikkert Vandahlen was hovering before the window and looking through it.
"Captain," the Engineer said.
"At ease, Engineer Vandahlen. Did you finish your observations of the moon's surface?"
"Yes, Captain. From what I can see, there are multiple plumes on this side, which matches the readings we did prior. The ice shell is atleast fifteen miles thick, and the sea sixty to seventy miles deep," Engineer Vandhalen said, sounding enthusiastic. "The readings show there might be volcanoes constantly exploding due to the massive tidal forces of Majriti and the suns."
"Did you locate a promising spot for any potential future cities?"
Engineer Vandhalen nodded, and Garrick saw a message with an attached image sent towards him. He accepted it, looking at the image and watching the Engineer highlight a few areas. To him, they all looked the same: pockmarked, dark, and icy stretches with deep craters.
"This one is the best so far," Engineer Vandahlen said, pointing out a deep gorge that looked like something had grazed the moon. "It's deep enough to make landing reasonably easy without the winds and storms causing the ships to crash down."
Garrick examined the location for a while, then nodded at the Junior Engineer.
"Good. Continue, and keep an open mind. This isn't something for anytime soon, but we will eventually need to create a base there."
"Yes, Captain!"
Garrick turned around, smiling at the younger man's enthusiasm.
After a short conversation with Nurse Marryland, he moved into the pilot chair, strapped in, and prepared for a rest. He left his helm on, not just because he wanted to be ready in case something happened, but also because it allowed him the quiet to sleep properly.
