2. A Chef, Not a Soldier

"Here he is!"

Whack.

"Welcome back to reality, soldier. Here's an update: it's still terrible here."

Whack.

Auren felt the whiplash across his back once, twice. The room was dark. Cold. The pain was real.

He was alive. Again.

Auren was flooded with dread as his final memories raced back. He tried to struggle against his restraints as blow after blow continued to fall, but to his bewilderment, he couldn't move. He couldn't speak. But mystifyingly, he could see and feel.

His back ached with white-hot pain. He sat in a darkened room on board what felt like a starship, chained to a metal stool. There was a slight vibration underneath him, as though they were under thrust. The air was sour and stale.

Whack.

Auren wanted to scream out but found all he could do was sit there, frozen, suffering blow after helpless blow as the shadows kept raining pain upon him. This went on for days, and after some time, he wished he would grow tired and sleep or simply black out. But to his disappointment, he found that whatever ability he'd once had for such things had been as altered as the rest of him. Each time his captor opened a lash across his body, it would just as soon begin to stitch itself together. The torture was endless, mind-numbing, and after a while, he began to wish he'd remained behind on Vesperion to be overtaken by the enemy with the others. Anything would be better than this. He couldn't even cry.

The only bright spot was that his captor wasn't tireless like he was. They sometimes left him for what felt like days only to inevitably return and dole out more punishment, never providing so much as a word of explanation as to what his crime had been, other than using the device in the first place. And perhaps that had been crime enough.

Auren waited in agony, unable to move, as had been the case for however long he'd been here. He tried desperately to immerse himself in a memory of being a boy back on Obila…

He and Fengári were camped out under an overpass awaiting the upcoming holo race. They'd been homeless for the past few years, and the monthly races were one of the only entertainments Tartarus afforded them during their childhood. They'd stayed up late into the night watching as the legends battled for fame and victory. And for a moment, he'd been happy…

Footsteps behind him snapped him back to reality. The memory departed, and he found he didn't even have the will to cling to it as he braced himself for more pain.

"Boss says we ain't gettin' payment for ya. Shame. I was having fun gettin' acquainted. Oh well. Up ya go. Out the airlock. You really were a pretty little thing, weren't ya?"

Auren's heart began to race.

Shit. I didn't want to have to introduce myself like this.

The words cut into his mind clear as day. Neither the voice nor the thoughts were his own.

I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself sooner. Forgive me for allowing you to suffer; I had to be certain I could trust you.

Auren tried to reply but was still frozen. His jailer was roughly unbinding his feet and legs.

Just think, and I can hear you. I'm broadcasting from within the ship's data relay. I was like you once. Something like whatever happened to you forced me here, too. I uploaded a backup of myself before they launched me out the airlock,the disembodied voice continued. The words were formed with a faint accent.

Auren's mind spun, and he wondered feverishly if he was going mad. His jailer lifted him over one shoulder and started to carry him out of his cell.

Look, you should know that if he throws you out the airlock, you won't die. Do you hear me? You'll float forever. I can help you if you'll let me. But I'm going to need something in return…

Who are you?Auren inquired frantically. The presence replied almost instantaneously.

My name is Lupo.

And who are they?

The jailer suddenly dropped him to the ground and kicked him a few times before scooping him back up and flinging him over his shoulder. He slapped his ass with a coarse, bare hand.

"Ooooh, you are a tempting little thing, aren't ya? Haven't seen many as handsome as you. I'd have bought you myself if I'd had the credits," the man whispered in his ear.

They're pirates, Auren. Rapists and thieves and murderers. They intercept uploads, decant the body contained in the data, and then merc out bounties from the nearest human outpost for their hostages. They're monsters. And if they don't secure a bounty within a month of decant, they'll flush you straight out an airlock. If you were the general you were supposed to be, they'd make a pretty penny off you. I imagine they realized you're far too young to be a general.

So I'm not human anymore, am I? Am I even me? Is any of this even real? Auren began to panic as the hideous man who had spent the last month torturing him started to stuff him into an airlock.

He wanted to scream at him. To tell him to stop. To resist. But this time, he couldn't even run from fate. The man looked up and down the hallway, then crammed himself into the airlock with Auren, pressing his ill-formed body up against him and grabbing him by the crotch. Auren had been nude this whole time. The sensation of being violated made him wish he was already out there floating in space or dead back on Vesperion.

"Fuck it," the man groaned.

He'd never hated anyone before in his life. But he hated this pirate. He hated him with every fiber of his humanity.

Help me, Lupo,Auren pleaded, not knowing what a disembodied consciousness could do for him.

The jailer was licking his neck and grunting at him.

"Mmmf, you are a tasty little snack," he whispered. "I'm gonna just have to take a bite and see how you taste."

The pirate looked Auren square in the face and made like he was going to bite his nose. And had he been allowed to, Auren truly believed he would have.

Instead, Auren felt something happen that he hadn't experienced since he'd died on Vesperion: movement. Except he wasn't in control of himself. It was like he was viewing his body through a lens—watching in helpless horror as his hands and arms did things he would have never made them do himself.

Auren watched on powerless as his hands shot out and struck his molester square in the chest. The force of his strike launched the man straight out of the airlock, and he crashed into the hallway with a thud. His pants were around his ankles, and his eyes bulged at the sight of Auren crossing over to him.

"Your motor functions are supposed to be disabled!" he protested. "Power down! Help!"

Auren knelt beside him and snapped the man's neck.

Are you doing this? Stop! Please stop!Auren begged.

I'm doing what needs to be done, Lupo replied.

Auren's hijacked body took off down the hallway.

A pair of pirates rounded the corner ahead.

Fuck, Lupo said.

You don't have to kill them!Auren pleaded.

But the pirates had seen him.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be out here!" one of them cried. He withdrew an energy pistol from its holster at his side, looking at him uneasily.

Auren watched helplessly, aghast, as his body took off at a full sprint toward them. His inhuman momentum propelled his frame fast enough in the diminished gravity of the ship that he began to run alongside the curved wall as he gained velocity. He kicked off at the last moment and propelled himself like a missile into the man with the gun. There was an audible crunch as his ribcage cracked on impact. And then they were tumbling. Auren ripped the weapon from the pirate's hand and fired without hesitation. Gore arced out across the ship's wall, but his hijacker didn't react to it. He merely spun and ruthlessly fired another volley into the remaining pirate. They were dead. And Auren's naked body was covered in their blood.

You don't have to kill everyone!Auren cried.

Yes, I do, the voice disagreed. They're murderers. Every. Last. One. I've been here for years. I've seen what they are. We're getting out of here. But first, you're going to do me a favor…

Two more pirates appeared and disappeared as Auren watched himself fire two shots squarely into each. Their corpses fell, charred holes smelling of rank meat where the plasma bolts had cored them.

Auren stepped over them and took off down a side hall, weaving his way expertly past a series of checkpoints that miraculously opened up for them as they continued.

The voice chuckled. I've had some time to figure out their security systems. Look, I'm sorry about this. But one shot in the right place and we're fucked. You can trust me, I promise.

Auren didn't know what to think. But he wanted to believe the man. He wanted to survive.

They'd crossed into a section of the ship resembling a laboratory. Lupo deployed stealth during this portion of their journey, and Auren was relieved that he let several crew go as he snuck by them. A sign ahead read "neural uplink relay," and Auren felt himself begin to panic at the sight of it.

Oh no, no, no, I'm not uploading myself again… he begged as they approached.

You don't have to. However, the decant tank requires manual override. I need you, Auren. Please. Help set me free.

To Auren's inexplicable relief, he was in control of his own body at last. He flexed his hands, feeling much like he had when he'd been flesh and bone. But his reflexes felt far quicker than he remembered, and as he reached out, he found he had much greater agility, too. The sensory feedback was convincingly lifelike. He even felt a slight chill as the cool, artificial air of the ship blew gently across him. The voice in his head went on.

The vessel's consciousness-upload repository and decanting tanks are inside the next room. You'll need to search for the name Lupo Aria on the holo. Order it to decant me and I'll get you out of here. I'm transmitting myself inside now.

Auren hesitated, then turned the manual handle to the resurrection bay before him. Within, a vast server room was filled with stacks of computing equipment. In the center of the space, a colossal acrylic tube rested. Numerous mechanical arms were idle. They each held various tools and instruments. A large holographic data terminal twinkled before the machine, beckoning him toward it. In Lupo's sudden absence, Auren felt every bit as naked and alone as he was.

He hurried to the terminal and entered the name he'd been given. Relief washed over him as the man's data popped up on the screen. He clicked through a series of screens and selected "fabricate."

The tube lit up brighter now, and a mechanical frame emerged from the floor. The tools and implements within began to stitch and sew tissue and flesh across it more rapidly than he could track. A humanoid form began to take shape almost instantly, growing more intricate and fleshed out with each pass of the tools.

Voices from the doorway caused Auren's artificial stomach to drop. Four pirates had just crept into the server room and were eyeing him uneasily, apparently uncertain how to wrangle the naked android.

"Freeze! Step away from the device," one of the men said tentatively. He murmured something into his headset.

"I just want to get off this ship," Auren yelled. "Just let me go! Please!"

He threw up his hands and felt hot tears splatter down his cheeks at the thought of being taken down.

The team was fanning out, spreading his attention across a wider distance as they slunk toward him. He glanced over his shoulder at the tube where Lupo was only half formed. The lower part of his body was still only metal and ceramic instead of flesh—and Auren knew he had to buy his maybe-savior some more time. He felt he owed him that much. Even if it meant compromising what he believed in. He'd do anything to survive.

"Come on, guys. I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement," Auren begged.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your head, synth; prepare to be wiped and rebooted," the pirate replied sternly.

The squad had nearly reached him. But before they could grab him, Auren kicked out more viciously than he'd meant to, shattering the nearest man's fragile knee into a mess of gore and pain. He stared at the damage, aghast.

"By the stars!" one of the pirates screamed.

The others looked from their comrade's crumpled leg to the flesh and blood splattered across Auren's naked body and ran from the room. The fallen man was mumbling incoherently. He scraped and pulled himself across the floor with his arms, his destroyed leg dragging limply behind him.

Auren fell to the ground and sobbed at the sight of what he'd become.

Behind him, there was a vsssssssssssp of decompression and then the sound of plodding wet footsteps across the carbon floor before a warm, damp hand fell on his back. He flinched at the touch, unable to move or speak once more as he wallowed in the horror of what he'd just gone through.

A familiar voice, deeper and lower than it had been in his head, murmured in his ear.

"Get up, soldier. We're getting you out of here." Lupo pulled him to his feet and brushed the hair out of his face.

He was older than Auren. Taller. His hair was dark, and his frame hairy and chiseled. He was handsome. And he held Auren at arm's length and looked into his eyes with genuine-seeming concern. Auren had rarely been looked at like that by anyone save his brother.

"I promised you that you could trust me. I mean to keep that promise. Now, are you good to go?"

"Yeah. I'm good," Auren said weakly. He was still sniffling, though, his body simulating the experience frustratingly accurately.

"Alright then. There are flight suits in the cabinets over here. Get dressed, and let's get out of here."

"But where are we going?" Auren protested, even as Lupo slipped into one of the aforementioned suits.

"The pirate who runs this operation uses his private yacht to transport contraband across this region. It's currently docked with the resurrection ship. Don't worry; the ship's crew has already been dealt with. All we need to do is stroll aboard and kick off."

"Dealt… with?" Auren asked hesitantly.

"Vented straight into the void. Like I said, they're murderers and thugs." Lupo waited patiently as Auren stumbled into his suit.

He couldn't know if he'd traded one enemy for another. Auren eyed Lupo warily. But the big man stared at him levelly, unrepentant for his vengeance. And the transparency of his vendetta was oddly compelling.

"I promise you can trust me. I might be angry, but I'm not cruel," Lupo assured him.

Auren looked around the lab and realized with glum disbelief he didn't have a better option. And so he went along with the man who had just murdered people with Auren's hands.

"Let's get out of here," he relented.

The pair set off.