Redd rushed to the commander's side as Sentix struggled in Yeller's grip. A gurgling sound emerged from his throat, building into a scream that shattered the sterile silence of the White Room.

  As his body convulsed, his uniform shifted, revealing the strange topography of his flesh, transformed after a century under stasis. The life support field had stimulated his muscles without coordination or purpose, leaving some atrophied and others overstimulated into bizarre shapes. I could see where bulges of hard tissue bunched unnaturally along his left shoulder, while his right arm showed rope-like cords that twisted beneath the skin like parasitic vines.

  "Initiating extraction," Redd

  announced, beginning the horrific task of removing the stasis tubes embedded in the commander, starting with the neck. Each tube quivered, alive with blue-white energy, resisting as Redd slowly pulled it free. They slid from human flesh with a slippery sound, leaving behind star-shaped wounds that immediately wept pale pink fluid.

  The commander's scream intensified as each connection was severed, as though the tubes had become part of his being. Redd opened the clasps on his suit and moved to his chest, where the tubes had burrowed between his ribs. These emerged more reluctantly, trailing gossamer filaments. Each removal revealed the same starburst scar around a perfect hole, its edges hard and silver-white from one hundred years of insertion.

  "Commander Sentix," Redd said, its voice

  neutral against the man's screams, "you are being reanimated. You will be pleased to hear that your discomfort is

  temporary."

  As the final connections severed, the commander's

  howl died in his throat. He gasped desperately for air, then erupted in

  fragmented words.

  "N-no! S-stop—" His bloodshot eyes

  darted wildly around the room, seeing nothing.

  "Commander," Yeller said, adjusting its

  grip as Sentix thrashed, "please remain calm—"

  The commander's head snapped toward the sound.

  Recognition flashed across his face, followed by terror. "Let me go!"

  "His cognitive functions appear

  compromised," Redd stated, taking a spray-syringe from its medical kit. "I recommend stabilizer

  administration."

  "No!" Sentix's body jerked violently.

  "No more darkness!"

  "Commander," said Redd, "you must—"

  "No!" His voice cracked as he

  twisted against Yeller's restraint. "I..."

  "Wait," I said, squeezing past Redd and placing my hand on Sentix's chest. "Give him time. Let him breathe for a moment." His heart pounded beneath my palm, like it was trying to escape him. "You can't expect to just switch him on."

  "I did not switch him on," said Redd, moving out of my way.

  "I know. Commander, can you hear me? Try taking a deep breath." I brought my other hand to his bulging shoulder, feeling how his chest rose, held, and fell. "That was good," I said. "Now another one."

  As he took the next few breaths, I leaned across to catch his gaze. His pupils had contracted to pinpricks.

  "Commander Sentix," I said, "can you see me?"

  His lips trembled, forming empty words. I kept my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat gradually slow.

  "What...?" he finally managed.

  "You have been in stasis," I said.

  My ill-chosen words caused him to explode in another furious struggle. Redd had to lean over me to help Yeller adjust its grip, or else he would have smashed his head into Yeller's chassis.

  "Shade, do you still request a delay in administering the stabilizer?" Redd asked pointedly.

  "Yes. Give him time."

  As Sentix writhed, his gaze remained locked on me, his face twisting into a snarl.

  "Where..." he hissed through gritted teeth. "Where am I?"

  "You are on Voidhold Zero," I said.

  He stilled, his strength ebbing. His bloodshot eyes narrowed, struggling to focus. "It's..." The word emerged as a rasping whisper. "Cold." He swallowed hard, throat working against stiff muscles.

  "Your core temperature needs time to normalize," Redd said softly. "Remain still while your natural systems reassert themselves."

  But the commander was not in the mood to keep still. He twisted and bent, trying to look around.

  "How long...?" he said.

  "It has been twelve hundred and eight months since you were placed in stasis," Yeller stated.

  "What!" he snarled. "Speak clearly, damn you!"

  "You have been in stasis for over one hundred years," I said.

  Sentix's face went still, his chest heaving violently. "Impossible," he whispered, his eyes darting towards the viewport. "Are we still here? Still trapped in the storms? My crew..."

  "Yes," I confirmed. "We are still on Mosogon."

  He struggled against Yeller. "No! We must leave..." His eyes widened with sudden urgency. "The altitude—did we reach the altitude?"

  "Commander, please remain calm," Redd intoned.

  "I am calm!" he shrieked, spittle flying. His eyes were sharp with feverish intensity. "The voidhold! Is it stable? Did we rise above the storm layer?" His gaze crawled across my flight suit, lingering on its emblem. "You're not one of my crew. Where are they? What happened to them? Who are you?"

  "I'm a daughter of Zero," I said cautiously.

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  His eyes narrowed with sudden suspicion. "What do you want from me? What authority do you have?"

  "I need you to speak for me," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I've chosen you as my character witness."

  For a moment, he just stared. Then a raw, harsh sound escaped him. It was laughter, bitter with disbelief.

  "Witness?" His laugh turned into a coughing fit. "You think can make a witness? Is this some sick joke?" His voice faltered, eyes darting to Yeller, then back to me. "No. This is a trick."

  "No, this is not a joke or a trick," I said. "I am accused of a crime on another voidhold. They let me choose someone to speak for my character."

  "And you chose me?" He laughed again, a harsh braying sound. "You're insane, and they are stupid. This is a farce." His mouth, slack from screaming for so long, curled into a sneer. "Well, I know nothing of you. There's nothing I can say."

  Yeller's eye turned an optimistic pink. "If the commander's presence has no worth, should I return him to his stasis?"

  The words sent terror flashing across Sentix's face, raw and visceral.

  "No, we won't be doing that," I said slowly, watching the commander squirm. "Not just yet. I think he would like to tell us a few things. Is that right?" I asked him.

  "Like what?" he snapped.

  "I think it is time to know the truth of what happened."

  "The truth?" Sentix's face twitched. "You don't even know what you're asking for."

  The twitching became a spasm, head dancing on the neck like Aster. Redd moved closer, raising its scanner.

  "Commander," it said, "your vital signs suggest—"

  "Get that thing away from me!" Sentix shouted. He tried to lash out at the functionary, but Yeller held him tight.

  "Please, Redd, give us a moment," I said. After the medical functionary had retreated a few steps, I turned back to Sentix. "I know this must be overwhelming."

  "No, this isn't real. I'm not awake, that's what this is." Sentix's breathing steadied slightly and he looked at his hands.

  "It's reality, and you are awake."

  "Then give me proof. Let me walk around. Let me see the bridge. Show me where we are."

  "In due course," I said. "As for the bridge, that won't be possible."

  His eyes narrowed. "Why not? What have you done with it?"

  I stared at him in silence. How much did he know of the malfunction, the crew? How much remained in his scattering mind?

  "It is out of our reach at this moment," I lied.

  "Of course it is." He shifted, wincing as muscles protested. "Let me stand, at least. I won't be cradled like a child."

  "You may be experiencing—" Redd began.

  "Enough!" Sentix shrieked. "You, med bot, get out! Go on, leave!"

  Redd straightened. I could see it had a dozen concerns to raise.

  "Please leave us for a while, Redd," I said.

  It considered me, then went to pick up its medical kit. "I shall leave against advice," it said, a little peevishly.

  When the door closed behind it, Sentix spoke over his shoulder. "As for you, upkeep bot. Help me stand."

  "Please rise slowly," said Yeller, gradually adjusting its grip to help Sentix rise. Sweat beaded on the commander's forehead as he fought to stay upright, arms braced against the functionary, jaw clenched against the pain.

  "Now," he said. "Tell me what you have woken me to do. If I am to be your , I will at least know what I am performing. What do you need me to say?"

  "You need to tell them about the voidholds. About their purpose."

  His head jerked up, eyes suddenly sharp with suspicion. "Why? What do you care?"

  "Because there are attempts to unite them," I said quietly. "And I suspect that's a bad idea."

  The commander went utterly still.

  "Am I right?" I pressed.

  "Listen to me," he leaned forward, his hands supporting himself on Yeller's arm. "If they are seeking to unite us, then we have to leave right now. They must not find us. We must stay away from everyone. We must—" His words dissolved into a rattling cough. "Rise. Rise above..."

  "This would be unwise," said Yeller. "Your previous attempt to attain an unprecedented altitude—"

  "It's okay," I said quickly, cutting off Yeller. "Voidhold One is still lost. There can be no unification without it."

  "Lost?" Sentix clutched at Yeller's arm. "How?"

  "One and Zero disappeared together," I said carefully. "Then Zero reappeared twelve years later. That...that's all I know."

  The commander shook his head. "Lost...it's best that way. We were never meant to find each other again. We were supposed to remain separated until..." He trailed off.

  "Until what?

  "Until we were needed. Or until we were forgotten."

  "Needed for what?"

  "The voidholds. Eight petals of a deadly flower." His gaze drifted upward to the viewport. "Built to unfold into oblivion, consuming everything in its path." His face scrunched up in agony.

  "What do you mean?" My voice sounded distant even to my own ears.

  His eyes took on a haunted, distant look. "We're not explorers or colonists," he said bitterly. "We're detonators disguised as habitats."

  "What? But that doesn't make sense," I argued. "Why would anyone design the voidholds to destroy their own world?"

  " world?" Sentix said. "Who said this cage of gas and lightning was our world?"

  "But we—"

  "We are not meant to be here!"

  His words erupted from some deep well of anguish. His hands curled into claws, and only Yeller's firm grip prevented him from lunging forward. I forced myself to breathe evenly, to keep my face neutral despite the chill spreading through my core.

  "Is that what happened? Were you trying to save everyone from this...flower?"

  Sentix's eyes clouded, and his face twitched. "The calculations were perfect. The thrust should have been optimal." He blinked rapidly, his breath quickening. "Something went wrong. The machines warned me, but there wasn't time. We had to rise. We had to escape before—" His words cut off as he slumped against Yeller's frame, remembering something his mind couldn't yet face. "I tried to warn them. But they wouldn't listen. They kept dreaming their dreams of a glorious future."

  "Voidhold Two," I said, almost to myself, thinking of the mural painted across their thren, showing the voidholds arranged in perfect formation. "They dream."

  "Two? Who's their commander?"

  "They have no commander, only a council. Five leaders instead of one."

  "Five fools instead of one," he muttered, then seemed to gather himself. "Tell me your name, daughter of Zero."

  "Shade."

  "Very well, Shade. I agree to speak for your character, such as it is. I'll tell them you are rash and inscrutable yet oddly articulate for someone who likes to conceal their face. But I shall also say you are not necessarily murderous. That's all I can offer. I hope it helps."

  "It will," I said, though in truth, my own predicament seemed increasingly insignificant.

  "And I shall also warn them about unification," he continued, "though they will not listen. Such truths cannot be heard, let alone from someone like me."

  "It is the best we can do," I said.

  His gaze hardened. "And in return, you'll do one thing for me."

  "What do you need?"

  "You will make me a promise." His voice grew urgent. "When this thing is done, when I've said what you need me to say, you will not put me back in that state. I can't..." His voice dropped. "I can't. Not again."

  "Commander, your sentence—" Yeller began.

  "No." Pain crossed Sentix's face, desperation naked in his eyes. "When we're done," he said with grim finality, "you will find a way to have this beast of a machine execute me." His eyes held mine, allowing no evasion. "Promise me that."

  I met his gaze. "I promise."

  His shoulders relaxed slightly at my words, but Yeller's eye flashed an alarming orange.

  "Such an action would violate my core directives," the functionary stated. "No alternative protocol exists for termination of human life."

  I glanced at Yeller, then back to Sentix. "I'll find a way," I said quietly. "There will be some procedure, some protocol buried in the systems that would allow for it." I steeled my voice. "And if not, I shall do it myself."

  He nodded, his eyes closing briefly. When they opened again, I saw terrible clarity emerging.

  "I could hear them," he whispered. "Their voices." His malformed muscles tensed. "But I couldn't stop the ascent." He stared at his twisted hands. "They were trying to reach the bridge. To override the commands. The..." His voice faltered. "I thought I could still save us if I just..." A broken sound escaped him. "How many?"

  Yeller's eye turned a soft green. "Commander Sentix," it intoned, "you are responsible for the deaths of seventy-three members of the Voidhold Zero crew."

  Sentix didn't react with surprise or denial. His shoulders slumped, the fight draining from him.

  "I was trying to save us," he whispered. "And instead, I killed them all."