My Tribrid System.

Underneath the colossal frame of the spaceship, Tahir lay on his back, meticulously tweaking the turbo engine's connections. Each twist of the wrench, each tightened bolt brought the engine closer to life, humming with potential power. He felt a surge of satisfaction as the core systems flickered on, a faint hum signaling that his adjustments were working.

A shadow crossed over him, and he looked up to see his master. "Quite the ambitious project you've taken on here, Tahir." His master handed him a bottle of water, and Tahir took it with a nod of thanks.

"Yeah, it's been a challenge, but I'm making headway." Tahir took a drink before setting the bottle aside, glancing up at the engine with pride. "I've got a few extra upgrades lined up too."

His master leaned casually against the ship, a faint smile playing at his lips. "What kind of upgrades?"

"Well," Tahir began, unable to hide his excitement, "I embedded a code bug into the mainframe that lets me control everything in the ship through voice commands. With just my voice, I can manage navigation, diagnostics, communications...pretty much the whole thing. The system is keyed to my specific voice and code, so no one else can access it."

"Impressive," his master nodded. "And I assume you've thought of security too?"

Tahir grinned. "Of course. I set up a hologram projector that doubles as surveillance. It can scan and monitor each area, detecting unauthorized movement. And since this ship has 300 rooms, I installed a key-card system. Each door will only open with a room card. It's a fortress in the sky."

His master looked around, nodding with approval. "You've turned this abandoned wreck into something truly formidable."

Just as Tahir was about to continue, Bruce's voice resonated within his mind, catching him off guard. 'Not a bad base for a faction, I'd say. But while you're working on upgrades, I should mention something strange happened in your construct. A new door appeared.'

'A new door?' Tahir asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Yes, a black door,' Bruce replied, his tone wary. 'It's giving off this strange dark aura, and it showed up right after you unlocked that shadow ability. We've got no idea what's behind it, but I figured you'd want to know.'

Tahir considered the information, feeling a mixture of curiosity and unease. 'Alright, I'll check it out when I'm done here. But you know, Bruce, something has been bothering me for a while now.'

'Oh?' Bruce's tone held a slight edge, as though he sensed Tahir's suspicion.

'How did you and Shaw know about this ship?' Tahir asked, a faint frown creasing his forehead. 'I'd been working on it long before the system or either of you came into the picture. It was just me and a pile of junk parts. So how did you two have access to that knowledge?'

There was a brief silence before Shaw, usually the less talkative of the two, interjected. 'Tahir, some of your actions and memories became accessible through the system after you acquired us. Think of it as a kind of background information we inherited when we bonded with you.'

Tahir's eyes narrowed, his gaze hardening. 'You two know I can tell when you're lying, right?' His voice in his mind was firm, unwavering. 'And right now? You're both lying.'

Bruce was silent for a moment before finally sighing, the sound carrying an edge of frustration. 'Tahir, you don't understand the complexities of the system. Just trust that there are things beyond—'

'Oh, spare me the lecture,' Tahir shot back, rolling his eyes. 'The system this, the system that. If you're going to hide things, at least come up with something believable.'

Shaw, who was usually content to let Bruce handle these conversations, finally snapped. 'Why do you always question everything, Tahir? Maybe there are things you don't need to know. Ever think of that?'

'Oh, I've thought about it plenty, Shaw,' Tahir countered, his tone biting. 'But unlike you, I'm not one to sit in the dark and hope for the best. Either tell me the truth, or quit talking in circles.'

Bruce's sigh was palpable even in his mental voice. 'Fine. Maybe someday you'll get the answers you're looking for. But for now, focus on what's in front of you. That ship's not going to build itself.'

Tahir muttered a silent curse, half tempted to shut them both out. But he knew, begrudgingly, that he needed their help, no matter how cagey they were. His eyes drifted back to the spaceship, his thoughts lingering on the strange, black door that had appeared in his construct.

For now, though, he had a ship to finish. Taking a deep breath, Tahir cleared his head, returning to the task at hand. He focused on the hologram projector's wiring, tightening connections and ensuring the sensors were in perfect sync with the mainframe. With each twist and tweak, the ship's systems grew stronger, more reliable.

Minutes turned into hours as he continued, explaining his work to his master along the way. "Once I finish the last adjustments on the projector, I'll start finalizing the engine," Tahir said, gesturing to the large turbo system he'd been modifying. "If all goes well, I should be able to test the thrusters tomorrow."

"Then I assume the ship will be ready soon?" his master asked, studying Tahir with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah," Tahir replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "This place is more than a project now. It's turning into something real—something my faction can depend on."

With a final nod, he climbed out from beneath the ship, stretching his limbs. The spaceship was coming together, but Tahir knew there were still secrets lurking in the shadows, both in his mind and in the depths of his construct.

He glanced at the ship one more time, determination hardening in his gaze. Whatever mysteries Bruce and Shaw were hiding, whatever that strange black door was, he would find out. For now, he'd focus on building his base and maybe, just maybe, those answers would come to him.