20. CHAPTER 20

The best part of inspecting this ship was having time to try out the bed. Nice, soft, and warm, even warmer now I have my human with me again. His heat and scent drove me mad, yet there was something different about him and about it. Not just because of his brave actions, I've already sensed he was a survivor, but no, something was new. Even the sex was different, he was different.

"I gotta admit, you are the most exciting guy I've ever met," he said, staring at the stars above once I opened the viewport above the bed. "I can't believe that only a year ago, I was at home in my bedroom, hating my life and not having a clue what to do with it. Now I'm here, in actual outer space, in the arms of a hot alien man."

"Hot?"

"It means sexy, attractive."

"Ah. Hot." I repeated the word, thinking it strange that humans associate attractiveness with heat, but I think I got it.

"I've been to actual alien planets and met different aliens, and maybe I'm coming down hard from an extra version of an adrenaline boost, but I've just realized now... it's like it's all finally getting received, you know, like the gravity of it all. We're not alone; this is only the tip of the iceberg. Imagine all the different planets and solar systems out there with many worlds and aliens getting into all sorts of adventures of their own."

I smiled when I saw the whimsical glint in his eyes.

"Why did you sneak onboard your colony ship?"

"After my dad died, I felt so guilty, even though everyone told me how silly it was to feel that way.... but I sort of felt that my mom blamed me in a way. Parents think their kids don"t know who their favorites are, but we do, and I know that I never was a favorite. Even with Dad alive, Mom used me like I was a prop for her channel, and it made me resent her. So Dad dying only made things worse between us, caused a rift that neither of us knew how to repair."

"How did your father die?"

"He let me drive his car when he picked me up from a fourth of july party. I was always begging him to let me do it.

While driving on this long stretch of road, I saw something... I don't know what it was... it looked like something was flying by, but it seemed to flash in front of the car, and I lost control and slammed into a tree. My dad must"ve unbuckled his seat belt and tried to take control of the wheel. I woke up, my father was dead, and I was in a hospital."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It was a long time ago." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "My Mom started moving us all over the place and worked odd jobs, especially after her social media money dried up. It all came to a head when I dropped out of school. Signing up for the Outer Worlds program was just another trigger for us."

"Do I make you happy?"

He laughed, "What a question to ask out of nowhere. Yes, even though I don't like the idea of being in love with a man who wants to kill my people."

"It's not your people that need to die if what I heard is true."

"What do you mean?"

"You have a potential threat to us all. The AI you brought here."

"AI? How is that a threat? They're helpful."

"They can be beneficial until they seek to gain dominion."

"That is just fear talking... can't believe that a species as technologically advanced as you would fear machines!" He scoffed, and I knew I would not get through to him. "One of those machines saved your life a few hours ago. Connor is an AI."

"What?!" I stood from the warmth of the bed. "An AI is here? You brought one onboard this ship?"

"Connor is good! He's fixing your ship right now!"

I slipped on my underclothes, which was all I had besides my armor, but it would have to do for now. Caspian scrambled out of bed as I marched from the room. I searched the ship but couldn't find it anywhere until I checked the bridge. It was next to the other human, the two locked in conversation, but I didn't give a damn. I grabbed the machine and flung it out of the small room and onto the floor.

"Lorvian, stop!" Caspian yelled as he approached.

I looked over what looked like a human being in every way. I couldn't believe it. His skin felt no different from the skin I've caressed and kissed. I marched to the other so-called human, pulled him up, and inspected his face. Before turning to Caspian. My thoughts ran amuck with paranoia and confusion. Were they all? Or did they merely create them in their own image?

"Lorvian." Caspian approached the fallen machine, pulled up his shirt, and lifted a piece of its skin, which showed a small bluish light pulsing behind a flexible mesh. "You can't do that to me." He pulled at his own skin to show me he was different.

The other human, Cormac, did the same.

He helped Connor to his feet, and the demonstration calmed my nerves somewhat. "I can't believe you created these machines in your own image! Not even we were stupid enough to do that." I argued, gathering my bearings. "You do not understand how long we"ve had to recover from fighting their kind."

"You fought your machines, and judging by how aggressive your people are, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear you created them to be killers. Connor is helpful. He repairs tech, he can pilot a ship, and so on."

"I'm here to help," the machine said. "I did not mean to offend you."

I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the damn airlock! He didn't fight back... yet.

"Lorvian, if you destroy him, that is it! That moment of peace we shared will be our last!" He doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Caspian!" I released him and ran to his side.

"I don't know what's going on!" He exclaimed through clenched teeth. "It hurts!"

"Could it be a pregnancy?" I asked but didn't think he could answer. Now I was missing my ship, there I could at least call a doctor.

"There is a med bay onboard. I can perform a few tests and see what is wrong," the machine said, leaving the room as if I had not just tried to fling him into space.

"Now I have to place my man's life in the hands of a machine." A machine he seemed to trust, but still.

"Just help me get there!" He ordered, and I swept him in my arms to take him there.

We waited in the doorway as the machine performed a few tests, biometric scans, and whatever else he said he needed to do. I didn't trust him. The stories I've heard about them were too horrific, even for the average Valisian war tale.

Cormac placed his hand on my shoulder, most likely sensing my desire to reach out and grab that machine and stop it from touching him.

"Go cool off," Caspian demanded.

"That would be a good idea." Cormac agreed.

Who were they to order me about? Since when did this human think himself my equal? I was losing control of my own damn ship! I left anyway with the young human behind me.

"Here's a bit of advice." He said once the doors closed. "On second thought, never mind." He must have realized I was in no mood for this shit.

The human stood a foot away once we waited in the hall.

After what seemed like forever, the machine exited the room, and even though I didn't want to listen to a damn thing it said, it was all I had right now. "I have conducted as many tests as the equipment allowed. Unfortunately, it was not much. The space can fit much more for maximum efficiency–"

"Can it, tin can! Just tell me what's wrong with my man!"

"Pardon... It would appear that RA…I mean…Caspian's physiology is mutating. The equipment cannot show the proper cause. He will need to be moved to a well-equipped med bay."

If it wasn't one thing, it was something else, and I didn't want to go back to my ship, but it was the only place I knew with a stocked med bay and lab. "We can go back to my ship. I have a full medical staff on standby," I said, though I didn"t know if I trusted any of them.

"I do not need a full medical staff, just the equipment."

"Okay then." Cormac sighed. "Just give me the nav point."

"Fine. Looks like we're heading back to Eros."

The machine couldn't be trusted, but neither could my second nor anyone else onboard my capital ship.

I sat by Caspian's side and wiped the sweat from his brow, he seemed different when we were coupling but sickness was the furthest thing from my mind. However, it reminded me of how reckless I was with his wellbeing.

We reached my ship, and I hailed my crew with my secret passcode. Cormac guided the vessel inside the hangar, and I carried Caspian onboard, where Swarti attempted to stop me. I passed him by and didn't stop for anyone until I laid him on a bed in the lab.

"I dismiss everyone until further notice," I announced to the med staff. "Swarti, you can return to your post."

"But, sir. I'm your second and should at least know what is going on here."

"That is the problem, isn't it?" I sneered, making him feel the full weight of my displeasure. "You need to always know what is going on with me. Leave me, now."

"Y--es sir." He said, and he left without another protest.

"The least you can do is be nicer to the people watching your back." Cormac felt the need to give me his piece of unsolicited advice.

"Shut it."

Once again, we were in the predicament of waiting outside the door. I hated it here; I think perhaps I always did to a certain degree. I felt like a stranger on my own ship. Was it the same for Zantos or Xil?

"Holy shit!" I heard Caspian"s muffled exclaim from the room and bolted back inside.

"What is it?" I asked, hoping to hear the news of a pregnancy rather than something dire.

"I have finished most of my analysis." The machine stood to approach. "His cells are mutating at a rapid rate, perhaps because of a virus. There are two hundred and eighty-six known viruses your species can carry, both dormant and active." He pulled up an image of a few wiggling lines, and I did not understand what the hell I was looking at. "The virus is slowing cell replication, and its presence is already manifesting at surface level." He walked over to him with a small pen and directed my attention to the small points on his ears and the similar dents to my own.

"What does this mean?" I asked in awe. I"ve seen nothing like this in my long life.

"Is that gonna happen to all of us?" Cormac asked with concern etched in his voice.

"I would love to run a few tests on you as well and study the progress of this fascinating turn of events." The machine replied, and his tone almost… changed... was he happy? "I would also need to run tests on you, Lorvian. You and he have coupled multiple times, I presume?"

"For his sake, I will allow your tests. How long will it take?"

"One earth day or two."

"I don"t know what that means, but hurry anyway."

"Yes, sir." He stood straight and gave a Valisian salute, and for a moment, I forgot he was a machine, clever bastard.

I walked over to Caspian. He seemed better than before, but his skin was paler with small spots visible underneath, and his eyes darkened; perhaps another mutation? Or was it because of how he was feeling?

"Can we leave now? I don"t like it here."

"It isn"t safe."

"I don"t want to be cooped up in a room like before." He shifted and stood up.

"You first, Cormac."

"Fine, whatever. I don"t know how I feel about becoming an alien." Cormac sighed and held his head low before taking a seat on the bed.

I helped him into the hallway.

"I hope this changed your mind about Connor."

"You are relentless. AI almost destroyed my people. They wanted to fight for their so-called independence, and they needed proper extermination."

"Okay, I"m sorry that happened, but let Connor prove himself to you. I mean, you just dismissed your entire med staff; I think you can afford to trust one machine who didn"t even fight you back when you tried to kill him."

"It."

"Fine, it." He rolled his eyes.

"I have my own current fears of these machines as well. The alien we fought, the one called Feion, wanted me to capture one of your AIs and use it to create an army. Where did you find that AI?"

"On that ship." He replied. "The one we saved you from."

"You mean the one I saved you from… It means he either had one or someone else found one for him. We have no knowledge of how long he was there, how they altered him, or if there are more."

"But this Feion is dead."

"I believe nothing is dead until I see their dead fucking body. Even so, it could still mean he has a partner who is also interested in his proposal and was stupid enough or devious enough to agree."

He looked away from me and folded his arms into himself. He looked uncomfortable, and I couldn"t tell if it was the topic or his well-being that was the reason behind this. "Androids are the ones who built our colony. Outer Worlds sent them out here first, and they have been out here for perhaps a few years."

This was alarming news. His ship"s arrival was the first time we"ve encountered these humans; a surprise visit had only happened once or twice by a new species, and even then, it was never a major shock as there were always signs of their arrival beforehand.

Yet the arrival of these humans completely caught me off guard. How did the humans know there was a habitable planet out here enough to send a large colony? They scouted the planet beforehand and sent an android crew to build it all without me knowing. How was that possible? I would have known.

"Lorvian, Connor told me a Valisian brought him to the ship."

"That"s not surprising." I sighed. Could it have been Regis? Ugh, this not knowing was giving me a headache.

"Let"s focus on one thing at a time."

"You"re right," I said, wrapping him in my arms. "I hate waiting on results."

"I can tell."