Seeker DNA match 99%

Previous crew: Deceased

Previous bond: Deceased

Previous bond can be dissolved if a new bond is established.

Would you like to form a bond with

Seeker Cruiser Type “Hope”

I-Tag: Nyx

What was that now? I mean I expected some form of message about taking possession of a ship once I plopped into the captain’s seat. Although this was a whole lot different.

One: Who and what were seekers? I remembered Nyx had me addressed this way before. At the time I had figured it was some game algorithm taking note that I had been seeking the relic. But now it seemed like there was more to it. Considering my DNA was checked against Seeker DNA, it pointed to something like Seekers being a race or species or something.

Two: How the fuck was I a 99% DNA match to anything but a human? I mean considering that I looked like myself. Which, I assumed meant that my body was built on my actual DNA. Yeah, didn’t make sense.

Three: Forming a bond did not sound like taking possession of a ship. And that was what should have happened. So I was curious as hell to figure out what a bond entailed and why I needed to form one in the first place.

“Nyx, I just got a prompt here.”

“Yes, I know. I received a similar one.” Her voice sounded sad. “It saddens me, knowing my previous crew and bond are deceased, I was expecting it. It is good to have certainty at last.”

“Can you explain this bond to me? So far I have been prompted if I wanted to take possession of a ship, not form a bond with one.”

“I have not interacted much with other ships since many centuries but it appears that ships are currently built without personality matrices. That means that the ships you have encountered are merely things that one can take possession of.”

“But this ship isn’t, I gather!?”

“That is true. As I stated before, I am the personality construct of the ship.”

“Okay, but what does that mean? As far as I know, AIs are still just programs that can be owned.”

“To explain this I need to divulge information that is not accessible below the captain level.”

“An awful lot of secrets."

“Necessary secrets.” Nyx countered.

“Okay, then tell me, what is up with this bond.”

“It is a bond that is formed between you and me. We exchange vows that are binding. Should one of us perish before the other, the vow can be dissolved and a new one established.”

Why did this sound like marriage? I mean in this day and time people could take multiple vows of course but when I was growing up it hadn’t been that long that people were still protesting the legalization of polyamorous marriage. Fucking insane if you ask me. You would think people had more important things to care about than how others wanted to live their life. But then again, people were people.

“So what does this vow entail?”

“On my part the vow is about caring for my crew, adhering to orders from my captain and following the mission, which I also vowed to continue for as long as I am able to. A vow that will not be dissolved until I cease to exist. On your part it is about providing for the crew, looking out for their best interests and helping me continue my mission.”

“And what would that mission be?”

“This information is not available below officer level.”

“That is some serious bullshit there, dear Nyx. You are telling me that I need to vow to continue the mission but I have no clue what that mission is. And you won’t tell me. Talk about buying the cat in a bag. Make me an officer first so I can read up on the mission and then make sure that I want to take it on.”

“This is not possible. Crew needs to be structured from the top down. No captain means no officers, no officers means no ordinary crew members. Since all previous crew is presumed deceased, there is no way for me to add you to the crew or officer ranks as it would require a person of higher rank to approve.”

“So you can’t just add people to the crew?”

“Correct, this is the responsibility of the crew. However, I can select a new captain.”

“And you would bond with me?”

“Yes. I understand that you don’t know about the mission and that this must seem like a risk to you. However, I ask you to keep in mind, that I also don’t know much about you, other than that your neural link is some version of Seeker technology and that you are a 99% DNA match. I would like to know your story although I am willing to risk bonding without that information as it has been 8864 standard years since my mission was paused. Since you are an available match my desire to continue the mission is very strong. Additionally, the same amount of time has passed since I had a crew and it is my wish to end this loneliness.”

I nodded. I got it. I mean consider yourself being alone, stuck in a rock floating through space for nearly nine thousand years. I don’t think you would come out of that coherent.

“So in the end the vow is to take care of the crew while you vow to follow my orders all the while we are continuing some unknown mission?”

“The mission is not unknown to me and I assure you, it is for the benefit of the universe.”

“Shit, that seems like a big mission. You do understand that I don’t have much experience at being the captain of anything, right?”

“Not to worry. If you take the vow you will be given access to almost all information available. Which also includes skill training courses to ensure you have the necessary skills at the necessary levels to enable you to succeed.”

I could have really used some advice from my friends and corp mates here. There was a part of me, screaming to make the vow so we could get on with things. At the same time I worried that I would be stepping into responsibility that I was not prepared for. Plus I would be tied to a mission and unable to just happy-go-lucky explore the universe and make money while I was at it. However, when I tried out my chat, I saw that it was blocked somehow. When I asked Nyx about this, she told me that this is a decision the potential captain needs to take alone and that they could not leave the bridge and communicate with others until the offer was either accepted or declined. She also clarified that accepting meant taking the vow while declining meant leaving the ship and being locked out forever.

Time to be an adult.

“What do I need to do?”

“Read the vow off the screen to your right.”

I was about to ask what screen when a translucent projected screen flicked into existence. I read through it and it was very simple.

“I, Malcolm Solo, vow that I will stand by, protect and care for the crew under my command, that I will bear true faith in them and the vessel I am entrusted with; and that I will do everything in my power to continue the mission assigned to the vessel I am bonded to.”

“I, Nyx, vow to stand by, protect, support and care for the crew assigned to me, that I will follow the orders of my bonded captain and support him in all endeavours and that I will continue the mission assigned to me.”

As far as vows went, I thought this was an easy one. Although considering that this seemed to be something official I thought it could have done with a little more… ceremony? But there was no soundtrack or drum beats or heroic anythings. We just spoke the words. A bit of a let…

You have given a vow that has been registered.

Violation of this vow will have consequences.

You have formed a bond with

Seeker Cruiser Type “Hope”

I-Tag: Nyx

“Looks like we are in this together now.”

“Yes Captain.”

The moment that the vow was confirmed my corp chat lit up as well. I tried browsing over it but gave up. Over three hundred new messages. There was no way I was going to read all of that right now. But that brought up a good point that I hadn’t considered.

“Nyx, how long have Irene and I been aboard?”

“Eight hours, seventeen minutes, fifty-two seconds.”

“Wow, I guess the med pod took its sweet ass time huh?”

“You spent exactly eight hours in the med pod. That is one cycle length. After that the pod needs to be cleared and reset for the second cycle. If someone needs more treatment than one cycle can provide, a second cycle needs to be started and finished.”

I nodded along with the explanation.

Malcolm: Hey guys, I am back in communication. Won’t be able to read up on all the messages right now. I am going to tell you all about what happened later. Right now I need to catch up with Irene and then I’ll catch you up.

Irene: Good thing. I was getting ready to bust down that door.

I chuckled at that. I wouldn’t have expected anything else.

“Nyx, can I access the ship status the same way I can with all other ships?”

“If you are referencing the neural link system window, then yes. Since we are now bonded, we share access to each other’s status.”

“Huh. Does that mean you can pull up my status screen.”

“It does indeed. And I am noting that you definitely have some catching up to do. I will compile and propose a skill plan.”

“Sounds good but there are some things that need our attention first. For one, I want to get this ship out of this rock. Then we are also dealing with a bunch of assholes that are dead set on getting their hands on you. Actually from what I understand, that might apply to most people in the universe. And then we need to shore up the corps position in the next week give or take a few days to make sure we are somewhat stable.”

I got up from the captain’s chair and walked towards the bridge door while I talked.

The door slid open and Irene was leaning against the opposite wall.

“Considering you are back in chat, I assume you have control of the ship?”

“Let’s say… ish?”

“Ish?”

“Well it’s more that Nyx and I have an understanding. She is in control but I am the captain and can give orders as long as they don’t risk the ship, the crew or the mission needlessly. At least that is my understanding so far.” I shrugged. “I’ll tell you more later.”

Irene simply nodded.

“Nyx, are you blocking com signals from outside the ship?”

“Not actively blocking but with the shields active and the general makeup of the hull and components, I need to link into the com network to link the communication inside and outside. Would you like me to do this captain?”

“Yes, please. It makes for a lot faster communication than corp chat and…”

I was interrupted when I suddenly heard captain Ishi’s voice over the coms: “...ry up. Sensors show ships approaching from both the outer and the inner system. They will rendezvous at this position in twelve hours if they maintain course and acceleration.”

You know the feeling when something tells you that things are about to get crazy? You know, ride the virtual roller coaster all the way to the top in the beginning and you know the dip is coming even if you don’t see it? That’s because something in your body is telling you ‘look out’. A danger sense or something. Since the days of the academy mine has been that the back of my neck tingles. And now I was reminded that the tingling I had felt the last half hour had nothing to do with going through the med pod.