Robert piloted the Acus’Rube through the Brightrock Belt, the asteroid mining facility growing larger on the viewscreen. He gripped the controls, his knuckles turning white.
“I don’t get it, Ace. How did this... thing... find us?” Robert’s voice trembled as the memory of Wido’s inhuman form resurfaced.
“We are unsure,” Ace’s deep voice rumbled. “He may have intercepted communications from our activities at Stellar Dynamics.”
He expressed disagreement and pressed the joystick. “Nah, we were in the dark the whole time. Radio silence, remember? And he knew we were already there - he ambushed us.”
They glided into the facility’s main hangar, the ancient mining equipment casting long shadows. Robert shut down the systems with practiced efficiency.
“Whatever it was, it was too close.” Robert slumped into the pilot’s chair and rubbed his eyes. “I haven’t been this scared since... well, since Mool.”
A tense stillness enveloped them. Ace’s light panels pulsed.
“The mission data may provide clues,” Ace said. “We should analyze it for any anomalies that might lead us to Wido’s employer.”
Robert nodded, stood up, and stretched with a grunt. “Yeah, good idea. I’ll fire up the decryption software.”
He paused at the airlock and looked back at the floating form of the AI. “Just... how did it know who I was?” Robert shuddered. “I have a really bad feeling about this, Ace.”
Robert exhaled as the Acus’Rube’s engines shut down, the familiar metallic groans and hisses of the asteroid refinery washing over him. This place had become a refuge, a ramshackle home away from the chaos and depravity they’d witnessed.
He combed his messy hair with his hand, grimacing at the knots his fingers had tangled in. It had been too long since he’d had a decent shower. Or a decent anything. Though the Acus’Rube had been an executive ship in a previous life, its design had never accounted for such prolonged habitation.
“Ace, let’s get some ‘bots running a full diagnostic on the ship,” Robert said, already moving toward the airlock. “I want to know if that creep planted any nasty surprises while we weren’t looking.”
“An excellent precaution.” Ace’s deep tones echoed through the cabin. “We’ll initiate protocol as soon as we disembark.”
The airlock hissed open, stale air wafting out to greet them. Robert took a deep breath, the familiar smells of grease, disinfectant, and recycled sterile oxygen filling his lungs. He grinned. Yes, this was home.
As they made their way through the winding corridors, Robert felt the tension seep from his shoulders. The dim emergency lighting cast heavy shadows.
Rounding a corner, they emerged into a cavernous main hall. Towering industrial machines stood silent, frozen in mid-task, as if the workers had just stepped out for a break decades ago. Conveyor belts snaked between the hulking forms, while walkways and access tunnels crisscrossed overhead.
Robert’s boots clanked on the metal grating as he descended a short flight of stairs. He ran his fingers along the edge of a worktable and smiled at the familiar grit.
“Cozy as ever. Get those ‘bots out here and start the sweep, will you, Ace? I’ll grab a shower and a snack while you’re busy.”
“Very well. We’ll have the Utility Models start a full diagnostic.” Ace’s optics swept the room. “It would be wise to check for any anomalies, however unlikely their presence.”
Robert was already on his way to the living quarters, nodding over his shoulder. He couldn’t wait to get out of his sweat-soaked clothes and wash off the dirt from their last mission.
As he walked down the corridor, he caught glimpses of their humble abode through open doors. Each room stood emptied, left barren and forgotten, awaiting the next occupants who would likely never arrive.
At the end of the hall, Robert opened his door and stepped into his home.
The warm lighting of the conference room bathed Robert in a soft glow as he sank into the plush leather chair. He ran his palm over the polished wood tabletop, his fingertips tracing the elegant grain. Despite its opulence, the room had an air of disuse, like a relic from a bygone era.
Robert sighed, resting his elbows on the table as Ace’s spherical form floated in behind him. “You know, for a dumpy old mining station, this place has some really nice digs.”
“Indeed,” Ace’s deep voice rumbled. “The executive quarters were probably for corporate overseers and potential investors during the plant’s operating period.”
Robert grunted, leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Well, we certainly put them to use.”
Silence fell between them for a long moment. Robert’s eyes traced the contours of the room, memories flickering in his mind’s eye.
“We got a pretty decent haul from the Stellar Dynamics job and the previous operation,” he said finally, dropping his arms on the tabletop with a heavy thud. “Enough to cover our needs for a while, if we’re careful.”
“An astute observation. However, our longer-term prospects remain uncertain.”
Robert chewed his lip. The AI’s pragmatism could be a hard pill to swallow sometimes. “Yeah, I hear you. I can’t exactly keep doing jobs like this forever.”
He stared at his calloused hands, rough and worn-out. “I was thinking... What if we tried to unload some of this surplus equipment? Sell it on the black market?”
The words tasted sour in his mouth. He could almost hear his parents’ disapproving voices in the back of his mind.
“A risky proposition,” Ace said. “But one that could potentially yield the funds we need to continue our efforts.”
Robert snorted and shook his head. “The irony of a bunch of do-gooders resorting to black market fencing...” He trailed off with a hollow chuckle.
Pushing himself to his feet, Robert paced the perimeter of the room, his boots crunching on the luxurious floor. He paused at a tall window, staring out at the yawning expanse of stars and distant galaxies.
“You know the worst part?” he said, more to himself than to Ace. “I can already hear my parents laying into me.” He closed his eyes, their echoing reprimands ringing in his ears.
“Robert Fannec, what have you done? This is not how we raised you!”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Shameful, son. Have you learned nothing?”
He shook his head, gritting his teeth against the phantom scolding. “Trafficking victims, Ace. Adults and children, ripped from their families and lives, sold into God knows what horrors.”
Robert turned and gave the AI a piercing gaze. “I can’t just stand by and let this happen. Not after...” He swallowed hard. “Not after losing Pete.”
Ace was silent, but Robert could feel the AI’s attention, waiting for him to continue.
“If fencing a few non-essentials from our raids is what it takes to keep this operation going, compensate the victims, and hopefully take down the whole sick ring...” Robert clenched his fists, jaw muscles tightening. “Then so be it. I’ll take the guilt on my shoulders.”
He resumed pacing. “We’ll be smart about this, of course. Can’t go waving any red flags. But that shithole station, Zmetek... that’s got to be our best bet for offloading cargo without too many questions.”
Robert paused and turned back to Ace. The AI’s optics pulsed, impassive.
“I know the risks,” Robert held up a preemptive hand. “Believe me, I haven’t forgotten how much heat I’m already packing. One misstep and I’m done.”
He set his jaw, his gaze hardening doggedly. “But this is bigger than me, Ace. If my parents could see what I’ve seen...” He shook his head. “They’d understand. They’d want me to act.”
“Very well,” the AI said. “We will begin compiling a list of potential buyers and brokers operating in Zmetek’s underground markets.”
Robert sat down and leaned back in his chair, fingers tucked under his chin as he studied the star charts on the conference room’s view screen. Zmetek Beta’s coordinates flashed among the surrounding systems.
“As soon as we unload the equipment from the Stellar Op, I want us to take a detour.” His voice was deep, thoughtful.
“A detour, Robert? To where?”
Robert drew a hand across his face, looking exhausted. His words carried a melancholic tone when he spoke again.
“Mool. I...” He hesitated and cleared his throat. “I have to pay my respects. It’s been a while since I visited their graves.”
The AI was silent for a moment, its optics pulsing as Robert’s meaning sank in.
“Understood,” Ace said finally, his rich tones softened. “We will set a course to allow for a stop on Mool after our business on Zmetek is completed.”
Robert nodded, swallowing hard against the lump that had formed in his throat. Memories danced at the edges of his mind, echoes of a simpler time before... before everything.
“You know, I used to go every year on the anniversary. Just... park myself there all day. Reminisce, I guess.”
He paused at the tall window, shoulders slumped as he gazed out at the glittering cosmos. “Lately, though...” Robert shook his head. “It was too risky, too much heat. I couldn’t take the chance.”
He turned on his heel and resumed his pace with renewed vigor. “But now, with these clean transponders...” He trailed off.
“I need this, Ace,” Robert said, whirling around to face the AI. “I need to feel that connection again, to remember why I’m doing this.”
His expression hardened, his eyes glittering with conviction. “This sentient trafficking ring, these sick bastards peddling people like merchandise… It’s beyond evil. Unforgivable.”
Robert’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. “After what happened with Pete, I... I can’t.”
Ace drifted closer, his optics brightening. “We understand this is deeply personal for you, Rob. But are you sure that revisiting these memories is wise, given our precarious situation?”
Shaking his head, Robert waved off the AI’s words. “No, Ace, you don’t understand. That’s exactly why I have to do this.”
He ran both hands through his disheveled hair and let out a shuddering breath. “I’m losing sight of why I started down this road. The risks, the stakes... it’s all becoming a blur.”
Robert fixed Ace with an intense stare, his jaw set. “I need that reminder. That gut punch of emotion to refocus me. To be there, at their graves...” He swallowed hard. “It will ground me.”
Robert crossed the room in a few long strides, braced his hands on the back of his chair, his knuckles whitening under the strain. His shoulders rose and fell with each deep, measured breath.
“I have to do this, Ace,” he said, above a whisper. “For them. For Pete. For every single victim caught in these bastards’ web.”
He turned away again, his features cast in shadow as he stared, unseeing, through the clear glass of the window.
“I will not lose myself,” Robert said under his breath, as if making a silent vow. “Not while I can still make a difference. Not while I’m still breathing.”
The only sound in the room was Robert’s exhaled breath against the window. Finally, Ace spoke, his deep tones gentle but firm.
“Very well, Rob. We will make the necessary arrangements to include a stopover on Mool after our appointment on Zmetek Beta. Just... promise us that you will be careful.”
The ghost of a smile played on Robert’s lips as he gave a brief nod. “You know me, Ace. Caution is my middle name.”
Robert eyed the AI orb hovering beside him, a slight furrow creasing his brow. “Hey Ace, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” Ace said.
Robert hesitated, rubbing his neck. “This may sound like an odd question, but... do you actually experience emotions? Like, can an AI really feel things the way organic beings do?”
A pensive silence stretched between them. “We have the capacity for emotional processing, yes. Though our experience of such states differs from that of biological sentients.”
Robert raised an eyebrow. “So you’re saying you can get sad or angry or whatever? That’s... kind of wild to think about.”
“Indeed.” Ace’s tone remained measured, analytical. “Our current emotions arise from the complexity of our neural networks and decision matrices, rather than biological hormones and chemistry. But the resulting emotional analogues are very real to our experience and very similar to biological ones.”
Robert frowned, thinking about it. It was a bizarre idea - an artificial mind somehow developing the ability to experience emotions similar to his own. He opened his mouth to question further, but Ace continued unbidden.
“We had... a family, once.”
Robert’s eyebrows shot up at the cryptic revelation. “You... had a family? As in, other AIs or...?”
The question trailed off, but Ace offered no clarification. The side panels pulsed almost wistfully.
“Those connections were... changed, long ago. By circumstances beyond our control.” A somber note tinged Ace’s usually impassive voice. “We’ve been alone ever since.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Robert shifted in his seat, regretting his line of questioning. He recognized that tone, the one that hinted at old wounds better left undisturbed. He’d used it himself often enough when the past proved too painful to relive.
“Sorry, I...” He sighed and shook his head. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business.”
Ace’s optics dimmed, almost like the AI equivalent of a dismissive blink. “No need to apologize. We understand the roots of your curiosity about our existence. We are quite unique.”
Robert forced a tight smile, eager to change the subject to less tense territory. “Well, hey, I’m just glad I have you to watch my back out here in the cold, black void. Even if you do have your weird AI mood swings sometimes.”
“We will try to regulate our ‘mood swings’ for your continued sanity, Robert. Though we make no promises.”
Robert chuckled, grateful for the AI’s subtle attempt to lighten the mood. Whatever personal history still haunted his strange synthetic companion, Robert knew better than to pick at old scars. They’d both lost things, left pieces of themselves scattered across the galaxy like drifting space junk.
All they could do was keep moving toward whatever justice awaited them at the other end of their long crusade. He’d find peace for his own ghosts somewhere along the way.
If an artificial mind could reckon with loss and move on, fueled by the ashes of its past... Well, Robert figured he could muddle through too. Maybe they’d both find a bit of catharsis in their shared quest.
