Off near a huge crimson nebula that stretched through multiple galaxies, deep within uncharted space, a small black vessel suddenly appeared, it's haul was twisted and sparking. Most of the arrow-shaped vessel was venting some form of liquid. Small reflective particles fluttered around the ship as it drifted in a tight spin, creating a helix of crystals in its wake. Darkness and grogginess is what awaited me when I came too. The last thing that I remembered was the fighting on the Njord. Pushing into their ship to try and help the Njord. Then...Zero took control, he saved me, but Val warned me to not listen to him. Told me, something...He took me to the cockpit, he did something, now... "Zero, Zero, are you there?" The pod I was in slowly began to brighten. Being able to see again was a small relief, still, my HUD wasn't active, which was a little worrisome. The pod I was laying in was huge, made for someone twice my size, still comfortable non the less. "Hello Leo, Good, you're awake." Zero's voice greeted me, his voice not coming from inside my head, but through the pod itself, the pod's transparent glass lid seemed to melt away, revealing the room beyond. White walls and ceiling, slowly coming to glow, allowing me to see. The floor had white tiles, carefully stepping from the pod to the floor, my bare feet touching the warm tile, small abrasions raised to greet them. Confirming this is a Valik structure, more similar to the base on the Garden of moons than the Halo. "Zero, where am I?" I ask, trying to stand but my legs feel like jello. Taking a second to adjust, bracing myself against the pod. "You're currently within a small base for Valik scout ships. It was used for long-range scouting before their destruction." "How, how do you know this, how did we get here, where are my clothes?" Finally being able to stand without support, slowly beginning to slowly walk. Finally looking around the small room, it was bare, only the pod and doorway and nothing else. Ambling over to the door, it glides open. White corridors greet me, The path branching to the left and right greet me. "Proceed left down the hall, I'll meet you in the hanger." Walking down the corridor, slowly gaining back my normal pace, legs feeling strength returning with each step. Other than that, I feel better than ever. Coming to the end of the hall, only a blank white wall there to greet me, the tiles separated by a golden border inlaid, it stretched up along the walls connecting at the ceiling above me. Stepping past the gold border, I instantly appeared inside another white hall opening into a massive open hanger, the available space inside was massive. I bet 10 light cruisers like the Njord could easily fit inside. On each end of the hanger, a shimmering shield of blue energy kept the vacuum of space at bay. Walking further in, laying in a heap was a ship, larger than the UGF drop ship but smaller than a light cruiser. It was crumpled up like a giant had crushed a soda can. All along the husk of the dead ship, showed signs of melted metal all caked with black soot. Looking left, then right, seeing more ships, all the same, appearing to be in pristine condition. They're white exterior shimmer in the artificial light within the room, almost like seeing heat radiating off a highway on a hot summer day. The Ship was a wide oval, curving down elegantly, it's shape reminding me of ocean stingrays. Nine of these beautiful ships lined the side of the hanger. Suddenly hearing movement from behind me, I turn. Walking smoothly toward me was a tall, standing close to 3 meters tall. Its body was composed of elegantly curved plates making up its form. Milky white transparent plates as skin, gold filigree could be seen under the surface. Its head was similar to an arbiter, a mono eye housed within a crown of ridges making up its skull. All four of its arms hung down past its hips as it walked, upon two long long legs. "Hello Leo," the voice of Zero coming through the giant, it's height was towering over me, as it came closer I saw the intricate designs hiding under its skin, deep within blue crystals could be seen, connecting to a network of filigree in a complex weave. Within the hands of the machine, it held a set of white folded clothing. "Zero?" I question, accepting the clothing gingerly, and putting them on. "Yes, I'm currently residing within the mind of this drone," he began, then his voice changed to the whole base, "As well, as controlling the base," then hearing him within my head "I'm also still within your implant." "How, how is this all possible, after..after we got to the bridge of that ship.." Pain started developing behind my eyes. Zero's avatar gestured with one of its long arms. A set of square columns came out of the ground stopping slightly above knee level. "Sit, We have much to discuss," Zero began, taking a seat himself. Taking a seat, "We helped the Njord and were able to take out a fair number of their boards," he nodded, "Though, during the process, Sargent Arara must have gained knowledge that I was not what they thought I was. Trying to keep you from dying, and myself. I held onto control over your physical form. It allowed me to beat the Ghul commander. I used the ship to jump away from that system," He pointed at the broken black husk of what I now know was the Ghul ship. "I managed to jump us to an uncontested zone within the system but my calculations were wrong..." he trailed off, dropping his head, if he had facial features, I would know it was shame he was feeling right now. "We managed to get close to the jump point but the ship wasn't designed to take the stresses of warp jumping. The ship was venting air, fires on the main level, I did all I could to keep it together as best as I could. I was able to put you in a form of cryosleep within the cockpit. It was what allowed you to survive the journey..." The avatar shook its head, "We drifted through space for a long time, I'm sorry Leo." "How long?" I say, still trying to piece everything together, so much had already happened. Zero didn't answer, "HOW LONG, ZERO," I shouted "Yesterday would mark 60 years since we jumped to this system." "60 years...Mom, Dad, what about my brother, Val, what happened to them?" I whispered. Zero's avatar placed one of its long arms upon my shoulder, in a comforting manner, at this point nothing mattered. "I'm sorry to inform you that your father passed away. It was two years after we jumped from the Njord. He had an aneurysm that they didn't catch in time," he said, "I'm sorry." Eyes welling up knowing dad was gone, knowing I wasn't there to say goodbye, "Dad." "Your mother is still alive, she remarried, about 12 years after your father passed, marrying a coworker named Tom, giving birth to your half-sister Evelyn," A projection of Mom and Tom coming up between us. Mom had a smile on her face. The image shifted to pictures of a cute baby with black hair, green eyes, and chubby cheeks. They're still on Gaian. "Your brother has been promoted to admiral during the war, he married, and now has 3 children." Pictures of his wife and my nieces and nephew filled the screen. His grizzled face now sporting scars along his left side, he had a wide smile on his face while holding his wife at a barbecue. "War? how are they still so young?" I ask, knowing they're still safe and alive filled me with warmth, but I still had questions. Removing his arm, "The war sparked after the Njord attack. The Ghul attacking the Njord, the survivors all recounting the events before the Gaian federation and the council of Uzal, uniting both to raise their banners to fight back the atrocities of the Ghul. Mounting evidence against the Ghul, they had been secretly attacking both the Ghul and UGF making their attacks appear as if pirate have been doing it for years, before the attack on the Njord. The war is still going on, normally just small skirmishes on planets or in space around Uzal and Gaian territory. They're no clear winners just losses. As for how your mother and brother are still young and healthy, that is because of the Uzal. After becoming closer allies the Uzal allowed their advanced medicine into the human worlds. It almost triples the human natural lifespan. Your mother would be considered middle-aged at this point. If the medicine would have reached the open market a few months earlier the pills would have been able to help your father as well. Almost your entire population has expanded their lives, besides a chosen few." Feeling excited, "Wow, when can I go back and see them?" wanting to reunite with my mom, and reconnect. "About that, the Uzal, UGF, and even the Arbiters are searching for us. I'm sorry to say, but at this point in time we cannot risk it, not without some backing at least." "Why, why would they all want me, if I went back and left you here," I said. "You are wanted for stealing lost tech, being a spy and traitor, and aiding and abetting a known sentient AI." He said, his mono eye staring down at me. "I never stole anything or was a spy or even a traitor, I guessed... I guess I did help you, unknowingly of course." I say, thinking about it more. "True on all accounts, but they won't see it that way. After we went to the prison on the moon, you did come into contact with Valik warp jump technology and the UGF knew it. When then used it to escape, though it wasn't you but me who did it. I'm also a rouge sentient AI, which the Arbiters would literally burn all Gaian worlds to the ground to get, helping or not, my existence is a threat to them. The UGF believes you were helping me get to the lost tech, as well as the council of Uzal, having the ability to jump to any point in space is powerful and only the Arbiters have it, which makes them superior in any form of space combat. "Frack," I say. "Frack indeed." "Zero, how do I get home, how do we stop all this." "We make a plan, change identities, and proceed from there." We sit in silence, only for a couple of minutes, Zero breaking the silence, "Do you hate me, Leo?" "No, I don't hate you. You didn't want either of us to die, so I owe your my life, but this is all really your fault, to begin with," looking at his avatar, "We have to fix this, no matter what." I say. Nodding his head, "We will, I promise on my life, I will make this up to you Leo," Zero says, standing up. "There is more to show you, come, I'll give you a tour." Zero showed me around the hanger, I previously came out of a row of pod rooms, Zero explained that currently, it could house two dozen Valik scouts when in operation. The facility wasn't meant for human physiological needs, no cafeteria, or restrooms. Explaining that the Valik shared more similar to plants than animals, being able to absorb energy through photosynthesis than the consumption of animal proteins. Zero said he could remedy the facilities situation in a matter of minutes, he was just waiting for me to wake up. Zero's avatar leads me to back to the gold border hall, "As you probably noticed, this is similar to what you would call a teleportation pad, just like within your science fiction literature. Able to teleport matter from one point to the other. Though limited on range and versatility, we are able to move items from floor to floor instantly through these pads with just a simple voice command," Zero explained, "I made it simple, hanger, pods, cafeteria, and armory." Zero explained, instantly bringing us into a massive blank room, a white ceiling and plain walls began to illuminate at our presence, the same tiled floor of the pure white greeting me. "Now, I have already modified your room, you'll find a restroom there, as well as a refreshment device. I took the liberty to add all the recipes from the Njord to it, now" Zero's avatar raised palm, the space in front of us started moving and shifting, varies items started appearing, walls growing out of thin air from the floor, a dozen cafeteria tables filled up one space, a large sectional couch filled up a separate lounge area, and finally an area outfitted with all the equipment for a gym in another, each separated by glass walls arraying the teleportation pad. "The entire facility can be altered to fit your needs as you see fit, build whatever you like, but keep in mind that it cannot use complex moving parts." Zero explained. "Would you like to see the armory?" Feeling excited to see all the Valik weapons and armor filling the armory, "Yes, show me." Nodding, the room went from being a mixture of all my food and entertainment needs to, a small empty room, only a handful of weapons still within racks lining the walls. Three walls had vertical racks all arrayed around the pad, down the center, it held one long table with dozens of drawers lining it. "The armory can be expanded similar to the other rooms. The base has enough space to accommodate around two thousand humans if maximized efficiently," Zero said, turning to me, "Would you like to make any adjustments, how about your pod, would you prefer an actual bed to sleep in?" "It's already like a large bed, would it be possible to get a set of blankets made?" I ask. "They will be delivered shortly, the facility can manufacture simple objects like clothing and blankets, but we can be limited on resources." "How does it do all this?" I ask, moving my arms around me. "The metal used within Valik architecture uses a specific refined ore, the metals a by-product of what powers Valik ships to warp jumps. The metal itself is liquid in its natural state, it goes rigid using a type of resonance. Easily moved and shifted from one place to another, allowing for simple shifts in bulk matter," gesturing with his hand a pillar of white floor elongates and comes up to Zero's outstretched hand, grabbing hold of it, the bottom came out of the ground separating the two, first turning into the rough shape of a bow staff, slowly gaining beautiful engravings along its length. "This is a simple tool, crafted by using just ararium," balancing the bow staff on his palm easily, "Ararium is the metal used throughout all Valik ships, structures, and weapons. It can be refined creating everything you see around you," gesturing with his four arms outstretched. "Organic and synthetic items like your clothes are pulled from base material we have in deep storage. Those stocks can run low, if taxed with more bodies here, though easily remedied with easily purchased materials," Spinning the staff, then holds it between his four hands, the staff shifts from the staff to a perfect cube, then into a perfect sphere with crashing waves within its center, neither gaining nor losing any mass, just in different extensions of its shape, finally dropping the sphere to the ground with a loud clank, turning it into a puddle and finally merging back with the floor seamlessly. "Can I control it like you do?" I ask. "Not without being linked to it, your implant would be considered a toddler toy to the Valik, at least compared to their own. This was one of their greatest achievements and greatest downfalls," Zero dropped his head for a second before looking back to me, "We can make set up commands if you like, I can also make a program within VR, it can allow you to design to your heart's content." Nodding, "Now, what do we do about our future, I'm now a known criminal, how do we even begin?" "First, we must fix your identity, both physically, and our digital signatures." "How do we go about that?" "We hunt down an Arbiter, it's the fastest way, and least dangerous." "Hunt an Arbiter, I have never heard of anyone attacking one, let along killing one." "First time for everything," Zero chuckled, the sound was different, Zero was beginning to show real emotion. "Looking at Zero in a new light, yes, yes there is," I said. "When do we leave?" I ask. "You should rest for a few days, and then we can head out, the universe has changed in your absence, and you must have more questions." Leaving the armory and returning to the cafeteria. Easily using the interface to grab a tray of food. The tray held a cheeseburger and fries, a large chocolate shake on the side. It all tasted on the bland side, but it was all printed, and could never be truly compared to the real thing, even with the Valiks advanced printers making it. After dinner, I went back to my room, using the teleportation pad without the help of Zero. The first room was mine, automatically opening when I got near. A set of folded blankets sat at the end of the bed on top of a pair of firm pillows. Guessing Zero overheard me on the Njord complaining about the lack of a good firm pillow, for the first time since waking up I actually smiled. Stepping into the bathroom, similar to the one from the Njord, spartan with only a sink and sonic shower. "Zero is it possible to get a real shower in here." "Yes, we can make that possible, but it will use more resources to construct and maintain it," Zero explains, his voice coming through the implant. "That's fine, I'll throw together something in VR later." Taking a quick shower, and getting dressed in a fresh set of shorts for bed, noticing my old injuries were absent, even my scar from dropping my bike in college was gone. "Zero, what happened to my scars?" "During the regeneration process, some of your lingering damage was fixed, you were in critical health when I brought you onto the base, you spend a week within the regeneration pod healing." Nodding, I returned to my room, Zero's avatar stood by the door waiting for me. My pack, armor, and even weapon held within each of its outstretched hands. "I repaired your armor with salvage from the Ghul vessel. As for the weapon, it appears to still be functional but we cannot produce more ammunition for it here, not without specific resources." "Does the facility have a forge or anything?" I ask. "At this time no complex forge is on the facility, the Valik used different means to create complex designs." "Well have to get one, it will help us make our own ammo, and weapons," I say, Zero's avatar nods. "What about the weapons in the armory, can we use them?" "Not without drawing unwanted attention, though later we may be able to use them after we change our identities, claiming them as salvage." "Right, can't have the whole universe coming down on us, though we are in a secret, base right?" I ask. "Yes, in all reference this could be considered a base. Technically it is a self-sustaining hanger for the scouts to use between missions. It's not meant to house people, but I have started all the necessary changes for that. Water, reclamation, and food production. We will have to expand for the future, we will require getting some necessary items to live here long term." Nodding, "Thank you for saving my life back there, on the Ghul ship," I say, having remembered more details while in the shower. "You have no reason to thank me, I must thank you for saving my own life, and I'll owe you forever for the lies I have forced upon you." After chatting for a while longer, his avatar left. I explored more of this base, had a midnight snack, and ran in the gym for a while to clear my mind. My body felt in peak shape, even after the attack. Finally feeling tired, I went and laid in the pod, like a giant king-size bed, sprawled out, thinking of my future, knowing just in a few days I'll be flying to the nearest trade planet and hunt down an Arbiter, hopefully after being able to talk to my family again. My emotions and feelings still tangled up and sleep came hard. Thoughts of dad, and mom still fresh. Then more questions came up, but I suppressed them for the morning. I had time, my own time now. I was eager to get my life back but not at the expense of my or Zero's life, or anyone else's.