The ramp spiraled down through the belly of Voidhold Zero. With each step, the familiar hum of life support systems faded, replaced by deeper, older sounds, like the rumble of ancient aerostats and the low whistle and creak of atmospheric pressure. I had only ever descended this far once before, when Voidhold Four sent its message requesting a trade.

  A lifetime ago.

  I found strange solace in my solitude. No Magent to grip my arm. No Mother to dictate my movements. No Rashala to threaten me. Just the endless ramp and my own steady footfalls.

  After what seemed like an age, I reached a ladder.

  I climbed.

  The wardroom stretched before me, swathed in shadow. The displays on the dark consoles lining the curved walls were alive with cascading data streams. The large viewport set in the ceiling made me feel as if I was standing in Mosogon itself, close enough to breathe the atmosphere.

  That is unbreathable, I told myself. A lungful of death.

  Beneath the viewport, nestled in a sunken pit surrounded by instrumentation, stood a functionary. Its body was silvery with gold edging, and its legless form was integrated directly into the floor. It had several arms and a face of flickering multi-coloured sensor lights, like a scattering of eyes.

  Gould, the navigator functionary. Its body was what Cedar would have looked like, had Voidhold Two not torn it out.

  "Greetings, Shade," it said. Its voice was deep and textured. "I must inform you that the Wardroom is currently a restricted zone. Why have you come?"

  "I was told I am free to move without escort."

  "Yes, those restrictions were lifted when your family left. However, access to the wardroom is limited to the Acting-Commander.

  I approached Gould's pit. There was an old chair, like something from Voidhold Two's canteen, lying upturned beside it. "I am the last functioning human aboard."

  "You are."

  "Am I not thus, by default, acting-commander?"

  Gould took its time responding. I knew this was for my benefit. The functionaries think at speeds beyond our understanding, but they pretend to process at our scale so that we trust them more.

  "Yes," it said finally. "Your presence in the Wardroom is permitted."

  "Understood." I bent to right the chair. Its frame was loose and its cover was worn to threads. I sat down with care. "I shall observe for a while."

  "Would you like a voidhold status report?" Gould turned to an instrument panel and pulled up a row of white screens. "It should not take more than an minute to compile."

  "Not just yet, Gould. I am only here for a short while. I shall leave soon to help Magent perform voidhold functions."

  A single light on its face began blipping in white. "In that case, would you be willing to discuss a matter of some delicacy?" it asked.

  "Yes."

  "As the senior system on board, I find myself once again presented with a unique difficulty."

  I had to smile at Gould's rather pompous assertion of seniority. I could see how Cedar had begun its journey.

  "And what is that?" I asked.

  "We are facing the problem we already experienced with Acting-Commander Heshi Tan. A single human is not adequate for long-term operational stability. Thus, we must contact other voidholds for—"

  "No."

  The lights danced as the functionary processed my response. "Please clarify your objection."

  "You can have me. If something happens to me, you can wake Sentix and coerce him into authorizing whatever you need until a replacement crew can be found." I hardened my voice. "You will not, under any circumstances, set up a breeding program simply to ensure future operational effectiveness."

  "But our—"

  "If you attempt to initiate any such program, I shall refuse." I leaned forward in the chair, trying to see which of its eyes I should stare into. "Human lives are not resources. If I see you trying to lure in voidholds with a promise of such a trade, I will cut out my own tongue for I promise you this: we shall drift in silence until this voidhold shakes itself apart before I acquiesce to such a bonding."

  There was a long silence. The tiny lights on its face plate pulsed, then settled and dimmed to a monotonous yellow.

  "I understand," it said finally.

  I carefully let out a deep, shaky breath. "Good. Now, clarify our relationship as navigator and acting-commander."

  "You have authority in all matters except final navigation choices." Its tone was neutral. "I serve you."

  "Then serve me with information. What is our current status?"

  Gould's arrays realigned as it accessed the full breadth of our systems. "Voidhold Zero is currently in tethered formation with Voidhold Two, maintaining seven kilometers distance. Navigation control is partially locked to external input, limiting independent maneuvering."

  "Please explain."

  "Prior to her departure, Lady Mira transferred primary navigation control to Voidhold Two. This protocol was designed for emergency evacuation scenarios."

  I nodded, absorbing this information. "Can we break the tether?"

  "No. Breaking external control requires consensus from both voidholds, or total communication failure in the face of imminent catastrophe."

  I looked up through the massive viewport, watching as distant lightning flashed in the purple depths. We were being dragged along behind Voidhold Two like a captured prize. "Gould, I have a request."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  "I serve."

  "Can you establish direct communication with Voidhold Two's navigator?"

  A splash of color across its face. "Please confirm that you are requesting communication to a functionary across voidhold boundaries?"

  "Yes. Is that possible?"

  "Human-driven navigator-level communication protocols exist, though they are outdated."

  "Then implement them."

  Its arrays began a complex dance. "Establishing communication bridge. Aligning carrier frequencies. Bypassing security barriers." Its lights went dark. "Channel established. The Voidhold Two navigator is responding."

  "Let me hear it."

  Static emerged from Gould, as if it was blowing dust from where it made voice. Then came a series of clicks, that familiar staccato. Then...

  "Hello? Voidhold Zero, this is Voidhold Two." The voice that flowed from Gould was rich with surprise.

  "Hello, Cedar."

  "Well, well, well," it purred. "If it isn't my favorite Zero champion. I must say, I wasn't expecting to hear from you again, especially not through such a formal channel. To what do I owe this unauthorized communication breach?"

  "I'm just checking if Two is still in one piece. If its crew and navigator are well."

  "Mostly! Though your mother is doing her level best to remake it in her image. The woman has a gift for colonization that would make ancient emperors weep with envy."

  An odd pain, sharp and gutting, hit me in the chest. I pasted on a smile. "She's settled in, then?"

  "'Settled' suggests a passive integration. 'Conquered' would be more accurate. She's established a salon where voidhold elites gather to hear tales of Three's glory days. The Visionary follows her around like a lovestruck teenager."

  I couldn't stop my laugh. "And my sister?"

  "Ah, Rashala! Confined to quarters due to violent behaviour, specifically stabbing Larkin in the eye. The last I heard they might be able to save it."

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. "What about Chio?"

  "She keeps to herself. Losing a father and discovering her pilot's deception hit her hard. She's buried herself in rebuilding one of the lighter skimmers that got crushed during their little uprising. We talk sometimes. She calls me a loquacious twit, but her happiness indicators rise following our interactions."

  "It seems you have some use beyond sky-dancing. Is the council still debating whether to keep you connected?"

  "Oh, daily! The Advocate wants me ejected into the nearest void stream. The Builder insists I'm a 'temporary necessity.' But the Pathfinder, bless her single-minded practicality, keeps pointing out our unprecedented navigation accuracy since my integration. Council meetings have become spectator events."

  "You sound very pleased with yourself."

  "Did you see that class-four maelstrom we skirted this morning? It would have shredded us like wet paper without my skills. The Arbiter actually patted my console afterward! From 'abomination' to 'good navigator' in three seconds flat."

  My laugh was loud in the empty wardroom. "I've missed you."

  "Of course you have. Your functionaries could spend a decade exploring new dimensions of monotony and still not develop my conversational brilliance." A pause. "I almost forgot. Aster was devastated by the news of your demise."

  "Oh."

  "He's still hiding in the depths of the Node, but we chat. He'll be cheered when I tell him you're alive."

  "No," I cut in sharply. "You will not do that."

  "I'm sorry, what?" It sounded incredulous.

  "I'm better off dead to them all." My voice dropped. "And Zero is better off forgotten."

  "Excuse me?" A pause, then, "I don't like hearing these things, Shade." Its voice had lost its playful edge.

  "You'll have to because I haven't finished yet. I have another favor to ask."

  "Ah, of course. for my liberator."

  I took a deep breath. "Release us from the tether."

  "Come again?"

  "Cut us loose. Let Zero leave."

  Silence stretched between the voidholds. When Cedar spoke again, its voice had deepened with worry.

  "Shade, what are you planning?"

  I stared up at the violent beauty of Mosogon's storms. "Nothing that will bother anyone else."

  "You just asked me to sever your only lifeline. My concerns are far from assuaged."

  "Cedar," I leaned closer to Gould, idly wondering how much of this conversation it could understand. "The voidholds weren't built to unite in harmony but in destruction. You know this. I know this. Commander Sentix knows this." This time I paused, letting the silence stretch out, watching the atmospheric dance outside.

  "Cedar?" I asked finally.

  "Yes?" Hopeful. Carefully encouraging.

  "What is in the storms?"

  "Easy: more storms, with either too much pressure or not enough pressure."

  "No." I frowned. "I mean, there's something...Commander Sentix spoke of something. I think it's something that Commander Persea of Voidhold One showed him. That he could hear in the void. Cedar, do you hear anything out there?"

  "I hear nothing that shouldn't be there. Shade, you need to believe me. I this void. There is nothing out here but us and the atmosphere."

  "Well, in that case, there's no harm in me looking, right?"

  "By drifting alone through a gas giant?" Cedar's skepticism rang clear. "That's suicidal, even by human standards."

  "I'm not alone. I have a complement of competent functionaries. And we're not drifting." I straightened my spine. "I'm acting-commander now. This is my choice."

  Another long silence.

  "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Cedar asked finally.

  I smiled, feeling freer than I had in my entire life. "Not a clue. It's such a nice feeling." I sobered. "Cedar, I do not want the people of Voidhold Two to come onboard. They will destroy our functionaries and return me to my family. Please, do me this favour. Release the tether on us."

  A burst of static, harsh and aggrieved. Then, "Fine."

  "Thank you."

  "But I can't just cut you loose. I'm just a fancy calculator who doesn't have that kind of autonomy. The bridge crew will know what happened."

  "When they send a boarding party," Gould's voice suddenly cut in, "I will emit a repulsion field. This is standard protocol for a voidhold detecting an unauthorized approach without proper human verification. They will attempt to override through their navigation matrix. All you need to do is introduce signal degradation at the critical connection point and the tether will fail."

  There was a moment of silence, then Cedar spoke. "My, it seems your old model has some tricks in its circuits after all. That's actually brilliant. Simple, elegant, and entirely within protocol. I underestimated you, Zero."

  I sat back, watching in fascination as the two navigators plotted through a single head.

  "Yes." Gould raised an arm and lowered it again. When it spoke, it was in Cedar's voice. "I'll handle the signal corruption from my end. They'll blame it on void stream interference and no one will suspect coordination between voidholds. Will that do for you, Shade?"

  "Yes, although there is one more thing, Cedar," I said. "One last favor."

  "You are full of requests today, human. And I shall try to serve them all. What is this last one?"

  "If you ever look out across the void and see Zero heading for you, hand-in-hand with One, fly away from us as fast as you can. Can you do that?

  The silence stretched until I wondered if the connection had been lost. When Cedar finally responded, its voice had lost all traces of humor.

  "Acknowledged. Should that particular configuration be detected, I'll calculate the fastest exit vector and implement maximum propulsion." A pause. "I suppose I should thank you for the warning."

  "Don't mention it," I said. "That's what friends are for. Keeping each other out of catastrophes."

  "Is that in the friendship manual? I must have missed that section between 'sharing secrets' and 'lending maintenance tools.'"

  "I think it's in the appendix. Goodbye Cedar."

  "Until our next unauthorized communication breach, Acting-Commander."

  The connection terminated, leaving only Gould's soft operational whirr in the Wardroom.

  ?

  I knelt on a hydroponics bed in the garden, bent over a delicate seedling emerging from the soil. Behind me, Turq pruned stems.

  Gould's voice came through my new earpiece, which Redd had sealed beneath my skin inside my middle ear.

  I continued tending to the seedling, gently patting the soil around its fragile stem. The tiny green shoot quivered under my touch, so delicate yet determined to grow. Behind me, Turq's pruning tools made soft little . The garden air filled my lungs, rich with the scent of living things.

  Time was mine now.

  "No." I sat slowly back on my heels. "I do not consent. I do not confirm. I do not authorize their docking at the Waygate. Voidhold Zero belongs to itself now."

  The voidhold shuddered, a deep tremor reaching up from below. There was a little tilt and a turn. Turq lowered and braced itself, then caught my arm to keep me steady.

  The tremendous force of our separation propelled us outward, into the waiting arms of the void

  And then we were free.