Reborn as a Spaceship

I leaned back in my command chair, watching the tactical screens as the last of the Kall-e fleet disappeared into warp, their massive dreadnoughts leaving faint, rippling echoes in the spacetime they'd just torn through. The battle had been a textbook strike, as Jack had promised. We'd slipped through their defences, bypassed the primary blockade, and hit the heart of the NeuroGenesis facility with brutal efficiency. Jack's plan had worked perfectly, right down to the placement of the dimensional blockers and the timed jumps. The Kall-e had carved a path through the defenders, and Laia and Jack had swept in to collect the spoils.

But that didn't mean it had been clean.

The space around us was littered with the shattered remains of warships, drifting hulls venting atmosphere and twisted metal cooling in the dark. The losses had been steep on both sides. The Kall-e had paid for their victory in blood and shattered hulls, and the humans had thrown their Immortals into the fight with a savagery that had nearly broken the Kall-e advance.

Laia's report from the infiltration had been thorough. She'd pulled more data than I'd expected, including templates for Immortals, genetic blueprints, and something else. It was something she hesitated to share with me at first. When I pressed her, she admitted that Jack had demonstrated what she could only describe as a form of precognition during the raid. She said he moved through the facility as if he already knew where every guard, every locked door, every data node would be. She even suggested he might have a sensory ability that extended beyond normal human perception, something akin to a seer.

I'd long suspected Jack had a few tricks up his sleeve, but this was different. If he really could see the future, even in a limited fashion, it would explain a lot about how he'd managed to pull off some of his more improbable stunts. I made a mental note to dig deeper into that when I next saw him. For now, I had to focus on securing our gains.

Jack, for his part, had gone dark after the raid. Ellie had sent a brief, heavily encrypted message confirming he was alive but in poor shape. She hinted that the abilities he used had taken a heavy toll, possibly pushing him to the edge of his limits. She didn't say it outright, but the subtext was clear that Jack had paid a steep price for his part in the plan, and he wouldn't be back in the fight anytime soon. He had, however, left us instructions. He'd given Laia a data packet with our next steps, along with a warning not to linger.

I opened a channel to T'lish, her holographic form flickering to life beside me. She looked... different. Proud. There was a fire in her eyes I hadn't seen before, a fierceness that spoke to battles fought and won.

"You're in good spirits," I said, leaning back. "Celebrating already?"

Her face showed a sharp Kall-e grin. "My sons have proven themselves in battle. They have shed blood and claimed their first victories. The other warlords will respect them now. They will have their place."

I felt a pang of pride for her. She had come so far from the nervous, colourless outcast I had first met. She had become a true leader. But there was a hardness to her tone now, a warrior's edge that hadn't been there before. It made me wonder how much she had changed in our absence.

"What about your losses?" I asked, careful to keep my tone neutral.

She inclined her head, in a slow, deliberate motion. "Higher than I hoped, but not outside the calculations. We knew this would be a costly battle. Death in such a conflict is an honour for any Kall-e warrior."

I frowned, surprised at her acceptance of the casualties. She had always struck me as more scientist than soldier. I wondered if this new edge was the result of the genetic memories she had unlocked, or if the pressure of command had simply hardened her.

"I'm glad to see you made it out," I said. "We've got some... interesting data from the raid. Jack left us a few breadcrumbs to follow. He seems to think you'd be interested in a reunion. He gave us coordinates."

She made a pleased sound. "Excellent. We are en route to a secure location for our victory celebrations. It will take us a few days to reach it by warp, but I would welcome you there, my friend. It has been too long since we shared some downtime together."

I nodded. "We'll be there. Try not to break too many bones celebrating in the meantime."

She barked a sharp laugh, her holographic form flickering slightly. "You have my word, Lazarus. I will see you soon."

The transmission cut off, and I leaned back, exhaling slowly. T'lish had become something more than I had ever imagined. She had embraced her role as a warrior-queen, leading her people into battle with a ferocity that would have made the old Kall-e warlords proud.

Laia approached. "We should follow Jack's instructions," she said, her tone calm but her eyes bright with purpose. "He lined up a contact for us. Someone who can help with the Immortal technology and the genetic data we recovered."

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"Who?" I asked, already wary.

She hesitated, her face changed for a moment. "High Executor Thisse of the Pzetc Ascendancy."

I frowned. The Pzetc were outlaws, even by the loose standards of this part of the galaxy. They had a reputation for dangerous experiments and ruthless pragmatism. I wasn't thrilled about handing over sensitive data to one of their leaders, no matter what Jack's plan was.

"Laia," I said slowly, "you know what the Pzetc are like. Why would we trust them with this?"

She gave a slight shrug, her projection shimmering slightly. "Jack vouched for him. He seems to believe Thisse is one of the few beings in the galaxy who can actually do something with this technology. Besides," she added, a faint hint of amusement in her tone, "Thisse owes us for our part in setting up the new balance in the system."

I considered that. It was a gamble, but then again, every part of this plan had been a gamble from the start.

"Alright," I said, leaning forward. "Set a course. Let's see what our outlaw friend has to offer."

We left the wreckage of the battle behind, the Arbiter's engines hummed as we shifted to our layered pocket dimension. I instructed Laia to secure the most critical pieces of our loot. That being my primary brain, the Immortal templates, the cloning tanks in a secure hold, far from prying eyes. I had some trust in Jack, but the risk of exposing those prizes to the Pzetc was too great, so we left them behind rather than risk their safety and security.

As we crossed into the outlaw system, the scanners pinged with the familiar, chaotic dance of pirate ships and rogue traders, their transponders a tangled mess of false signals and encrypted chatter. It seemed the place had grown even more chaotic since our last visit.

"Well," I muttered, leaning back as the stars twisted around us. "Let's see if Jack was right about this one."

Laia tilted her head, as if she were considering my words. "Do you trust Jack?"

The question caught me off guard. I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the armrests of my chair. "I trust his intentions. I trust that he wants to win this fight. But trust... trust is complicated."

She didn't push the issue, but I could tell she was filing my response away for later analysis. She was always learning, always evolving. I wondered how long it would be before she started questioning all my decisions.

Stewie's voice crackled over the internal comms, his tone bright and eager. "Hey, Lazarus, Mira and I are taking Chunkyboy for a spin. Just a quick trip to the track."

I rolled my eyes, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "Don't get into any fights. And for the love of all things mechanical, don't get us banned from the station."

Mira's laughter echoed through the comms, bright and carefree. "No promises, Captain. We'll be back before you know it."

The channel closed, and I felt a pang of something close to nostalgia. They had grown so much since our first run through this outlaw system, back when we were barely holding it together. Now they moved with confidence, a reflection of the hardened survivors they had become.

As I turned my attention back to the holo-display, the ship's proximity alarms chimed, their tones sharp and insistent. I straightened, eyes narrowing as a small, gray-skinned figure materialized in the center of the bridge, his form crackling with the residual energy of a localized teleport.

"High Executor Thisse," I said, my tone carefully neutral. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

The Pzetc leader inclined his head, his large, lidless eyes blinking slowly as he took in the Arbiter's bridge. His skin had the texture of polished granite, his thin, flexible limbs twitching slightly as he adjusted to the new environment.

"Judge Lazarus," he said, his voice a whisper of dry leaves rustling over stone. "Your presence was noted the moment you entered this system. I thought it best to expedite our meeting."

He glanced around, his gaze lingering on the flickering holo-display of our stolen loot. I saw his thin, lipless mouth curl into something that might have been a smile.

"I see you have been busy," he continued, his gaze settling on the holographic image of the hybrids. "I had hoped the rumors were true. It seems you have acquired quite the collection."

I kept my expression carefully neutral. "And you seem to know a lot about my collection, given we only just arrived and I only just acquired it."

The alien's eyes flicked to me, unblinking and sharp. "I have my ways, Captain. And you have something I want."

I crossed my arms, leaning back slightly. "Do I?"

"Yes," he replied, his thin fingers flexing. "You wish for a true body, a living avatar to link with your core. It is within my power to provide this. But first, I must inspect what you have brought me. I wish to see these... artifacts you have collected."

I hesitated, glancing at Laia, who gave a slight nod. She had already shared a heavily edited version of the data we had recovered, but Thisse would want to see the physical components. I needed his help, but I couldn't afford to let him have everything.

"Alright," I said, pushing myself to my feet. "Follow me."

The Pzetc leader inclined his head again, his thin, elongated fingers twitching in what I took as a gesture of assent. I led him deeper into the Arbiter, past the conduits and reinforced bulkheads, through twisting corridors lined with the remnants of battles past. Laia walked alongside us, her form casting faint, shifting shadows against the walls.

As we reached the secure hold where I had hidden the bulk of our stolen technology, I felt a faint hint of anticipation from Wayfarer, his awareness extending through the ship's superstructure like the slow, grinding movements of continental plates.

Thisse's eyes gleamed as the doors slid open, revealing the stolen NeuroGenesis tech in all its grim, glittering glory. The alien stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the failed Immortal templates, the cloning tanks, and the stacks of genetic samples I had pulled from the facility.

"Yes," he whispered, his voice like sand over dry bones. "Yes, this will do nicely."

I felt a flicker of unease as he reached out to touch one of the containment tanks, his long fingers tracing the cold metal surface. I would have to watch this one closely. Jack might have vouched for him, but I hadn't survived this long by trusting easily.

"Thisse," I said, my voice firm. "You'll get what you want. But remember this—betray me, and I will find you, no matter where you hide."

The Pzetc leader turned, his lidless eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Of that, I have no doubt, Judge. No doubt at all."