In the hangar of the Infinite Forest battalion's cruiser, I stood inside Jason's ship, checking over our food supplies. Thanks to our stockpile from the Ishimura, we had enough for four people to last at least two weeks.
"Where do you think your boyfriend will sleep?" Nicole's voice drifted from the ship's lounge.
"We can just have him share Jason's bed. If he doesn't want that, I'll put up a hammock and he can take my bed." Finished with inventory, I stepped into the lounge. "I've always wanted to try sleeping in one anyway."
"Never been in a hammock before, so can't say if that'll be comfy at all." Nicole barely glanced up from her game, the glow of her dual-screen device illuminating her face. "Doubt Jason has either. Also, you know I was making fun of you for calling the kid your boyfriend, right?"
I frowned, gesturing vaguely. "I don't even know what 'boyfriend' means in your context. It's just a boy that's your friend, no?"
Nicole's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, you sweet, innocent, artificial girl." She lowered her game for a moment, savouring her discovery. "You're going to break so many hearts without even knowing it."
I tilted my head. "I've already stopped quite a few hearts from beating."
Nicole burst into laughter, her amusement filling the entire ship.
The rear ramp shook with several steps on it, and General Benjamin stepped aboard, scoffing at the scene. "She meant it in another way." Pausing himself, he seemed oddly pleased that neither of us stood at attention for his presence. "Tony's really teaching you well—no care for rank anymore."
"Nicole is just focused on her game, and you seem very unmindful about formalities." I met his gaze without hesitation.
The general blew out his nose in amusement. "You have a keen eye. Name's Harvey Benjaminz, CK-16's pilot." He tossed a bag toward me, and I caught it against my chest. "Alex told me how you went toe-to-toe with a Knight to help him out. That bag's got some advanced-issue gear for those kinds of situations. Better than a few frags and EMPs."
"Thank you." I unzipped it, surprised to find unfamiliar grenade models and what looked like throwing stars. "What are these...?"
"Your Knight will know." Harvey leaned against the doorway, his expression turning complicated. "They're a gift—from me to you—for looking after Alex. Poor kid was dragged into being a Star Pilot at fourteen. I've been watching over him since, but Rafellan—that psychopath—made it damn near impossible to give him proper training. Sent him into the field without even teaching him the basics."
Nicole barely reacted, her attention fixed on her game. "Uh-huh."
"I was just doing what I wanted, General. Nothing worth thanks." Despite my words, I kept the bag.
Harvey smirked at my quiet greed for weapons. "Sure there isn't." He crossed his arms, watching me carefully. "You're blazing a trail across the whole damn galaxy, missy. In the Obscure Quadrant, you captured a mutated KnightMare, proving the Dream Swarm is preparing for another Great War. Now you've spearheaded this whole incursion against Freiheit. Once we destroy the continent-scale robot factory on the other side of the planet, this war moves straight into the Fourth Sector."
I listened, silent.
Harvey's eyes darkened. "If you weren't an AKP, I'd think those achievements were fake. But for whatever the future has planned for you—" He tapped the side of his head. "—keep your gun close. Who knows what kind of people will want you gone... or want you on their side."
He turned to leave but hesitated at the ramp.
"One last thing." His voice was quieter now. "As terrifying as humanity is for creating something like you... there's always something else more horrific waiting to destroy it." He met my gaze, unreadable. "Have fun at your ordainment, little miss."
With a tap of his knuckle against the doorway, he disappeared.
I stood there, feeling... uneasy.
He was right.
Humans were terrifying. Their weapons—Knights, warships, bioweapons—were horrifying in both design and efficiency. But every weapon had a countermeasure. Every existence had a method of destruction.
I was no exception.
Despite his warning, deep down, I already knew. I could die. I would die.
The question had always been how I would meet that end. Today, it had nearly been beneath a Knight's foot. At the start of my life, it had been every single day in the Fallen Moon facility.
The future wouldn't change. My life would always be at risk.
I just hoped, when the time came, I'd get to see something beautiful before I died.
"We're back," Jason announced, stepping onto the ship with Alex following behind. "I'll set us off before we're any later to the event. You two figure out Alex's sleeping arrangements."
Hopping off his new prosthetic right arm, Alex said, "We bumped into the General on the way over. He say anything?"
Nicole snorted. "Just the usual: Firefly should watch her back, and some polite slander about our battalion."
Jason slid into the pilot's seat, prepping for take-off. "Alex has his temporary discharge certificate and his new arm. We just need to reach Nymphar before the start of next month."
The spaceships engines quickly hummed to life. As we lifted off, I watched the war-ravaged planet disappear beneath us, left behind in the cold abyss of space.
Alex shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, sorry if Harvey said anything hurtful, Firefly." He scratched the back of his head. "He probably thinks he's looking out for a fellow Star Pilot. I know the rumours about your battalion, but... I always figured they were exaggerated."
"It's nothing new." I reached for his right arm, curious. "The way he said it was, though." My fingers brushed the mechanical limb. "How does the new arm feel? Any issues?"
Alex flexed his new arm, watching the artificial fingers curl and uncurl with precision. "Oh, it's pretty good. Stung a lot less connecting it to the nerves than when I got the arm chopped off." He grinned, rolling his shoulder to test the weight.
Nicole hopped up beside me, inspecting the limb with keen eyes. "Wafarius Corp. Military-grade bio-adaptive tech," she muttered, forcefully grabbing Alex's wrist and twisting it slightly, as if testing its limits. "It's designed to grow with the user—easy to modify. Think of it like a multi-tool you can keep upgrading."
Alex blinked, impressed by her knowledge. He opened his mouth to ask something, but Nicole was already moving on. "Jason! That alright if Alex shares your bed?"
"No!" Jason shouted from across the ship.
Nicole barely reacted. "Looks like you get to build your hammock, Firefly." She turned on her heel, heading toward storage. "I'll help set it up if you let me sleep on it some nights."
"Of course."
As she disappeared into the cargo hold, Alex glanced at me, his face a mix of amusement and confusion. "What was that?"
"She does things at her own pace," I answered cheerfully. "You'll take the bottom bunk, and I'll sleep in the hammock."
Alex frowned. "Shouldn't I be the one sleeping in the hammock? Plus, you have a sofa in here. Just sleep on that."
I looked away, knowing this was an argument I wouldn't win. "I—I just want to try sleeping in a hammock. Nothing else to it."
Jason, always ready to chime in, crossed his arms. "The only reason we even have that hammock is because you snuck it into the supplies I was loading before we left Raven Compound. It'll be a hassle to put it up and take it down all the time. Where were you even planning to hang it?"
"M-my teacher said hammocks were cosy."
"That's not an answer." Jason and Alex said in unison.
Before they could push the point, Nicole reappeared, dumping a thick bundle of cloth, wool, and dangling ropes onto the table. "Lay off. Let her have her fun," she said, smirking. "Besides, we've got two weeks of straight traveling ahead if we want to reach Nymphar in time. You two have any ideas on what to do with that time?"
Jason and Alex exchanged glances but couldn't argue back.
Boredom had never been a major issue before—most of our trips lasted three days at most, twelve hours at the shortest. Jason usually spent his time cleaning and disassembling his weapons over and over, while Nicole played offline video games, with me often watching over her shoulder when I wasn't doing the same as Jason.
But two weeks? That was new.
Jason sighed, rubbing his temple. "...Hand me the rope."
Nicole grinned. "Oh yeah! You ever made a hammock before, Jason?"
"I can figure it out."
***
The sense of quiet tension in the air was almost palpable as I watched the soldiers attempt to build the hammock. Their awkwardness, their struggle to understand something as simple as rope and knots, was almost comical. But the true beauty lay not in their failure to build the hammock properly but in their persistence—despite the constant back-and-forth, the frustrations, and the disagreements, they were still working together. It was the kind of thing only soldiers could achieve, working side by side even when the task at hand was beyond their skills.
Boötes' voice cut through the private channel between us, a reflection of his thoughts about the scene. [Andromeda, your pilot of this era reminds me of your first generation operator.] There was a strange, almost nostalgic quality to his words. [I thought it strange at first, and I disregarded the thought. Yet she holds so much of Lancelot inside of her.]
I froze, processing the name. Lancelot. The first of my pilots and creator, the one who had been perfect—but also tragically flawed. [The same can be said of you, CK-Boötes. Alex has a rate of 56% similarity to Fanhauser.]
[The only difference between her and Lancelot is her body, Andromeda.] Boötes' words were heavy with something I couldn't quite place. [The decisive personality, her benevolence, the lack of basic human understanding, and the extreme talent for murder. Even the desires she has are the same as his.]
I took a moment to breathe, processing Boötes' assessment. [All pilots we obtain must have similarities to our original creators. That is the fundamental design of the Knight Kings lock on our systems. For all who attempt to link to us to have similar values to our original masters.]
Boötes' tone shifted, a deeper sense of regret rising through the crackling comms. [Even with that lock, it does not stop our brothers and sisters from being used against the empire we were built to sustain and guard.]
There was a long pause before he spoke again, and I could feel the weight of his words. [Andromeda, I wish to help you. Not only as repentance but out of gratitude towards your pilot for vanishing this curse I placed on myself. If she truly is so much like Lancelot, there is a chance she might be able to unlock your limiter. Just as Alex has the chance to unlock mine.]
I felt the offer linger in the air between us, and while a part of me was tempted—smitten by the possibility—I couldn't ignore the risks. Removing the limiter was not a simple thing. The consequences for Firefly... for her mind... were too great to consider.
I responded, my voice colder than I intended. [Why do you offer this? The Obscuros are all gone, including their Tzar. There is no longer a need for our limiters to be removed. They were added by our original pilots so that humanity would not get drunk on its powers.]
There was silence. Boötes' reluctance to answer told me that he was grappling with his own emotions on the matter. Then, in a softer tone, he continued. [There are eight CK-units confirmed to be under Freiheit's control, Andromeda. They could have even more. Including CK-27: Cetus, who has been missing since your long slumber started.]
The name Cetus shot through me like an electric jolt, fury rising within my core at the thought. My systems briefly surged with energy as my digital wings flared crimson, a visual manifestation of the rage within me. I quickly retracted it, forcing my composure back into place. [...Do not spread baseless theories.]
But Boötes, ever the honest one, persisted. [Andromeda.] His voice was softer now, almost pleading. [The Constellation Knights have all changed from how they once were. Orion spreads the lie of being the first knight, thinking it gives humanity hope. Lupus has lost all faith in the rest of us after your rampage two centuries ago. Pavo is even openly opposing the empire with his current pilot. If the Knight King were still here to guide us, we would not have fallen to such lows.]
[The Knight King and his pilot are gone, CK-Boötes.] I stated firmly, grounding myself in the reality of what had come to pass. [We have no choice but to accept that and move on from it. What the Constellation Knights turn into is up to their creators' will. We were made to protect the empire, however we saw fit. Not to serve it blindly.]
Boötes seemed to give up, a soft sigh escaping him. [You are right, Andromeda. I just wish we did not have to lose ourselves in the process.]
His words were a hollow echo of my own thoughts. As I listened, the hum of the soldiers in the background reminded me of my pilot—Firefly—as she fumbled with the hammock they had built. She jumped into it only for the ropes to give way, and she ended up on the floor in a push-up position. Despite the failure, the laughter that followed was genuine.
I couldn't help but smile—despite everything, she and her allies were learning, growing together.
And as I thought of Firefly, I couldn't help but pray that the day I would need to remove my limiter for her would never come. Her mind, as fragile as it was, would not be able to withstand such a deep connection.
The protection of the pilot—her protection—was always the priority.