It was pitch black when Aariel came to. Her shoulder was sore, but the pain was nothing compared to the agony she experienced when Vel had crushed it. Why had he done that? Her thoughts were foggy. She fumbled around near her earlobe, trying to turn on her occular implant. It was no use, the radiation must have fried it.
Lelantos was still lurching violently, they must still be in the void. Calm. Be calm. Remember what Vel taught you. Find peace in the chaos and collect myself, if I want to make it a day outside of the civs.
Ok. That's better. Not quite calm, but at least i'm not panicking. It's a start. What's that sound? Fuck, even the aural enhancements are down. Did that... that... what was it again that happened?
Shake it off. Something happened. Something very bad, but it's ok now. Aaric saved me. Isn't it usually the other way around? Wait. Aaric died. How could he have saved me. Her pulse began to quicken as she started to panic again.
“Breathe slowly, kid.” Vel said softly.
He sounds so close, but I can't tell. My entire life i've relied on this tech and now i'm useless without it. Aariel laughed.
“What do you find so funny in our astoundingly humourless situation?” Vel asked. He must be close, probably in the seat next to her. She could hear him trying to manually pilot Lelantos through the void.
Is that even possible? Lelantos is the most advanced ship in all the known 'verses, but can it actually be manually piloted in the nether?
“I'm just starting to realize why you're so reluctant to use sensory enhancements,” Aariel told him. She was calming now. If anyone could pilot a ship through this hell between the universes, it was Vel.
“Finally, someone gets me.” He replied wryly.
“Vel,” she started, afraid to ask, “Everything is all static-y. I can't remember much, but I don't need your ability to read emotions to tell you're furious with me.”
“It can wait,” he told her. “We're damn near floating dead out here. Have been for almost a day. Life support won't last much longer. If I kill the mark, we might get another hour out of it.”
“How can you even see?” She asked, “All the light is gone. It's like staring into a black hole.”
“I'm not human, remember?” He said, patting her leg reassuringly. She jumped. “I can see almost the entire light spectrum. I can feel the air drifting around objects. I can even pinpoint an object as a soundwave bounces back, your people used to call it sonar.”
“What are you?” She asked. “I mean, I read your files, but there was no name for your species or history.”
“I am a relic of a long dead universe.” Vel told her. “I am a harbinger of what befalls a civ when they overstep.”
“That's no kind of answer. All I know is that your maybe hundreds of thousands of years old.”
“At least. And that is all you need to know until I deem fit to tell you otherwise. I am a hunter,” he told her. “My people are long dead and I exist for the sole purpose of making prey of those who seek to pervert the 'verses to their will.”
“You,” Aariel laughed, “are one long winded and melancholy fellow.” It's as if he seems sad that we haven't died yet. What must it be like to suffer through the eons, knowing you can never meet a natural end? A dead 'verse. Did his people shift before there were even civs? Gods, he could be millions of years old. How is that possible?
Aariel quickly became lost in thought as she contemplated Vel's existence. He didn't want to talk about his life, so she satisfied herself with trying to figure it out on her own. A long time passed, how long she could not tell.
“I think i've got it,” Vel said. “Initiate reboot of the Phaseship Lelantos on my mark.”
Aariel heard Vel hit a few more keys.
“Mark.” Vel sat silently for a moment. “Fuck, he isn't responding to voice command.”
“I have an idea,” Aariel said. Her thought hadn't quite panned out yet, but she had the shadow of an idea at least. “Maybe Lelantos needs a neural signature reading to reboot after what Aaric changed.”
“I've had it hooked in this entire time, kid.” Vel said impatiently.
“No, not from you.” She said, reaching for his arm. It was there somewhere. She found a beam that must have fallen, it moved slightly. Fuck, that's his arm. No wonder he hits so hard. “We're a perfect genetic match, Aaric and I. We were designed that way. Let me try.”
“I suppose it can't hurt,” Vel sighed. She felt him gently applying three electrodes to her face, one near each temple and one between the eyes.
“Lelantos, verify neural signature and initiate reboot,” she said.
Nothing happened.
“Lelantos, respond gods-damnit!” Aariel yelled, slamming her hand down on the console.
“Nothing,” Vel said. “It was a good idea, for what it's worth.”
“Vel, look!” Aariel yelled. “The backups are coming online.”
“Something feels off,” Vel replied. “Whatever you do, do not unstrap. We shouldn't be stabilizing with just backups.”
“No,” Aariel said, ripping off the neural contacts. “That's impossible. No phaseship, not even Lelantos can jump running on backups.”
“Fuck me. It's started. I can feel the cores powering up.”
“Vel, are we going to live through this?”
“Maybe. Either way, it's going to get interesting real damn quick.”
Aariel yelped as the bridge lights powered on all at once. The displays were still down.
“No, no!” Vel yelled, “This is too fast. You'll tear apart Lelantos!”
Vel was frantically hammering at the console, trying everything to slow down the inevitable shift out of the void.
He's not strapped in. Oh god, he's not strapped in.