MONA replies, “I may have recommended a stimulant pack before she followed you. She was determined. I tried to protect her, sir. I did not want you to be alone when so many predators approached our position. I cannot leave the Scintilla. She can.”
“You took orders from a human?” I get up, frustrated that MONA would disregard preservation protocols. Then it hits me. “I’m sorry. Did you just say youwantedsomething?”
“I am AI. You modified me to learn so I could one day learn new things, like battle maneuvers.”
“You haven’t learned those.”
“No. But conversing with Zariah has taught me some new things.”
“What’s that?”
“That I care for the people I am responsible for. That is what people do. Did you know she talks in her sleep?”
I shift inside my leather jacket, growing uncomfortable from the idea of them talking without me knowing.What else has MONA told her?“Yes, but I can’t understand it.”
“That’s because it’s in another language.”
“Which one?”
“It changes. She has spoken in three so far.”
I get up and enter the medbay, find the vial she needs, and walk to the door to the cockpit. But I’m a dirty mess after the crash and handling the omenotau.
The showers won’t work until the back rooms are hot again. So I grab a pack of surgery prep wipes and wash up. I change out of my armored gear and into a fresh pair of pants and a t-shirt since she seems to like them. Then I return to the cockpit door, vial in hand.
“What are you waiting for?” MONA asks after a few moments.
My core is so hot that I fear what I will do when I see her.
“Trying to get control.”
“Why? Is mating not the prime purpose of all living things?”
But that’s my problem. “My kind has never bonded with another outside of our species.”
“Yes, they have.”
“Larisien tried but had no offspring. What if she wants them, and it’s the same problem with me?”
“Elix.” MONA pauses. “I have no data to support such a hypothetical. However, she has taken in a large amount of your serum in recent days. Her DNA is rewriting itself.”
Breath catches in my throat.How is that possible?
“What is your objective?” MONA asks.
The vial in my fingers is cool but warms in my fingers as I spin it around. “My elders would say there are three. Survival, procreation, and love. They do not all have to function equally to be effective, but they provide the stable platform for the future together.”
“Then perhaps it is worth the risk.” MONA opens the door to the cockpit without my command, exposing Zariah curled up in the nest I made for her. She is staggeringly beautiful even as she sleeps.
I slowly move toward her. The door closes behind me. I still can’t believe she’s on my ship or that I managed to keep her alive through a literal nightmare, and she doesn’t hate me for it.
I didn’t even think about the implications of the nest. I just made it because that felt right.
She looks so comfortable that I don’t want to disturb her.
A screen flashes blue beside her.
Zariah stirs. I glare at the closest camera and whisper, “Not cool, MONA. Let her sleep. I was enjoying the view. And I’m not sure I like this new pushy side of you.”
