In the deepest bowels of Arsius Station, so far down in the center of the asteroid that light from the storefronts and hotels of the cascading cityscape couldn't reach, a tower of obsidian glass stood alone. It was massive in size, five thousand feet in height, and so wide it sat flush with the walls of the massive cavern it was built in. Fifty one levels were measured and built against the structure, slowly tapering out in width as the personnel needed became more specialized and unique, though only a portion of those floors gave off the illumination of use. Administrators of all kinds made up the bulk of the first half, number crunching civilians that hustled back and forth, carrying stacks of datapads that required some signature or another.

  After that, comprising only a few levels, were the mechanics. Men and women, whose sole purpose was to keep the gears of war turning as they tinkered away endlessly on the A.R.M.S. units that lined their bays. They happily toiled the hours away, as they did everything in their power to make sure that every single unit was properly optimized to its fullest extent. No price was too high, no armament was out of reach. Not to them anyway. It was a position that anyone with a passion for these creations of death and destruction would kill for. And it was all because of the twelve men and women at the top most floor, that such wealth and opportunity was possible.

  Twelve chairs lined a round wooden table, all of which were occupied by either a physical body, or a holographic projection of one. Their attire was as different as the people themselves, with tailored suits and well trimmed blazers fighting for dominance against oversized hoodies and cargo pants. Wild hairstyles and skin colors of all kinds gave the impression of a more relaxed atmosphere, despite the tension that filled the room, though there were a few things they all had in common. Each of them were pale, gaunt ghosts, shells of the people they had once been, their skin sickly and anemic as they clung desperately to their bony features. Black tubes ran the length of the room, sinking into the uplink jacks of each member's skull, pumping binaric data into their brains at an alarming rate. Even for those who were not physically present, one could still see the black data chords dangling from their person, likely running into a receptacle off screen to give them the ability to reside out of their units for so long.

  But the one thing that anyone would notice, the one thing *everyone* noticed, the one thing that they had in common was their eyes. Neon colored irises of various colors lined the room, illuminating the area with unnatural mechanical glow. Their pupils were black as a void and stationary in their vision, refusing to dilate in any way as ones and zeros cascaded across them in seemingly random directions.

  To the rest of the galaxy, these men and women were the stuff of legends. Heroes and villains alike that every pilot aspired to be, even if they'd never seen them in the flesh. They were the tales told by half drunk yokels in hushed tones. They alone were the bastion, the shield that kept EarthGov from getting its grubby hands on their patch of the galaxy.

  They were the Free Space Omega Pilot Council, and they'd just been called to order.

  "Dammit Maria, what's this about?!" A powerful voiced boom from across the table as everyone turned to look. One of the holograms shifted in their seat, showing a great bear of a man donned in a sleeveless shirt and tactical pants. Even through his grey, malnourished guise, and protruding bones, it was easy to see he'd been a mountain of muscle at one point in time. His irritated growl echoed around the empty room as he spoke again, "I got forty-eight hours to clear out a system and I've barely finished with the fifth planet. I still have three to go and only twenty four hours left!"

  "Oh Kairos," The women named Maria said, smiling with seductive painted lips, the only part of her face that could be seen from underneath a wide billowing hood, save for a pair of bright fuschia eyes, "You and I both know that your Apache will make quick work of that backwater. Surely you can take time out of your busy schedule for little ole me?"

  "That's not the point," Kairos shot back, "Even if I had the time, I'm sure the same can't be said for everyone else."

  "I've been relaxing in Makeeb these past few months," A man said with a shrug, his teal colored eyes barely illuminating an amused smirk, "It's not like I was doing much else anyways. Besides, I like catching up with everyone. No one seems to return my calls for work."

  "The last time I took one of your *calls*, Deerbron" A women with neon purple irises spoke up, her voice raspy and strained, "I ended up on the wrong side of a nuclear explosion."

  "And yet you still live, Najda," Deerbron said, chuckling, "And a few million silver richer if I recall correctly, sweetheart."

  "I'm also down one Paladin, Deerbron," Najda said, feigning frustration. She fought to keep a smile off her face as she lectured her husband, "Thank the stars I was able to get Joaquin transferred into my backup. Otherwise, I may have been forced to tell the children how their father was found mysteriously tied up outside of an airlock."

  Deerbron frowned, pouting, "I swear, sometimes I think you care more about your co-pilot than you do me."

  Now it was Najda's turn to grin with amusement, "Oh, Love... You don't have to think to know it's true. I can find a husband in a week. It'd take me decades to recover from losing Joaquin."

  "Will you two stop this senseless foreplay?" A cantankerous older man spoke up now. His voice was gravelly and possessed just a hint of Earth Born twang.

  "Winston's right," Najda said turning her eyes to Maria, "Why did you summon us Mar?"

  Maria sighed, resting her bony chin on a pair of gray thin fingers, "I've been informed that another may yet join our ranks. A pilot's registry has been updated, and all signs point that it's an A.I."

  A sharp intake of breath seemed to suck all the air out of the room, as an uncomfortable silence took hold. It had been five years since they'd welcomed someone into their ranks, and even then, it didn't take longer than a week before their corpse had been found off-world, their mech abandoned, and co-pilot missing.

  "How can you be so sure?" Kairos said, leaning forward in curiosity, his Sea-Foam eyes staring daggers into Maria's "Have you seen their logs? Their face?"

  Maria shook her head, "Nothing so concrete. Only the name of his Co-Pilot. It seemed... odd."

  "Odd how?" Najda asked.

  Maria sighed, "It's a name that doesn't belong to any models currently on market. It's also not one that any of the intelligence companies had in testing. I heard as much coming from all the representatives I spoke to."

  "You're absolutely sure about that?" A man off to Maria's left said, his purple eyes shining with concern as his voice spoke a barely an injured whisper.

  Maria nodded, "Yes, Farron, I checked... twice."

  "Interesting..." Farron said, steepling his fingers together before resting them underneath his chin, "What's his rank?"

  Maria coughed, "It seems he's... on the low side of the pilot pool."

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  "Sigma Sirius?" Farron asked, raising a bright white eyebrow that stood out against his darkened skin.

  "A little lower than that, I'm afraid."

  "Gamma Primus?"

  "Sigma Logos?"

  "Please don't tell me he's a Beta Primus!"

  In an instant, the once quiet sanctuary was beset by raucous speculation, as one by one, each council member began to make their deductions. Maria cleared her throat in an attempt to maintain order, but there was no such luck until Kairos bellowed his frustration.

  "Oh, for fuck's sake, Woman. Enough with the suspense! Just tell us already."

  Maria glared at the man, narrowing her eyes, "Let's be civilized and refrain from using such colorful language in such pleasant company, eh Kairos?"

  The bear of man chuckled, but nodded, acquiescing to her request. She nodded back, chewing at her lip, choosing her words carefully. After a while, without much luck, she sighed and gave the truth.

  "He's an Alpha Primus."

  Silence met her once again, though it was only short lived, replaced swiftly by laughter. Loud, hearty laughter filled the empty space, as the council members lost it from the sheer absurdity of the statement. Some clutched their stomachs, while others had to wipe tears from the hollowed, sunken eyes.

  "Maria, I know you're not one for jokes," Kairos said, fighting back a wave of giggling, "But you really should consider a career in stand up if you get bored with piloting! I haven't laughed that hard in years."

  Maria pursed her lips, offering a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I'm glad you found that amusing Kairos... but I'm not joking."

  "Which is what makes it funnier!" He guffawed, slapping his knee as another wave of hilarious amusement took over the room.

  Maria had to wait an entire minute before the laughter died down, as she watched Kairos stand, his holographic form flickering as he did so.

  "Where are you going?" She asked.

  "Back to work!" He shot back, "If what you said is true, then the Kid's dead anyway. Imagine making information like that public. He'll have every head hunter from here to Perlum after him and that canister."

  "You know that's not how it works," Maria said, "One Pilot per Co-Pilot core, that's the rules."

  "Yes yes, we know," Kairos said, waving his hands dismissively, "We also know that the code which makes that little Co-Pilot function is also worth a fortune to the right buyer."

  "That's just a rumor," Deerbron said, shaking his head.

  "A rumor that carries weight." Kairos said, "EarthGov has controlled the AI market for too long. You'd be an idiot to think those greedy corpos aren't fiending for a chance to make their own version. That's trillions of silver left on the table for them, and that's enough for anyone to break any agreement, even with the Mother Planet."

  "If that's true, then shouldn't we do something?" A mousy feminine voice spoke up. Everyone turned to observe the elderly looking woman in the far corner, pushing a stray gray curl out of her face as she adjusted a set of wide rimmed glasses over her neon beige eyes.

  "What do you suggest, Lida?" Maria said, offering a genuine smile this time.

  "I don't know," She said, shrugging, "But surely there's something we can do. Educate him on just what it means to have a Co-Pilot? At the very least clear his name from the registry so no one can see and deduce what you already have."

  "Bah!" Kairos bellowed, "He's only an Alpha Class. We're lucky if he doesn't kill himself shaving."

  "We were all Alpha's once, Kairos," Lida said softly, "Or did you forget that?"

  "We weren't Alpha's with A.I.'s Lida!" Kairos argued, "As absurd as this situation sounds, it doesn't make a difference! I'm still confused as to why Maria called this meeting, considering he's so low rank she could just order the ship to dock in Arsius and have him fight in the pits until he gets a few ranks. This is hardly an issue that requires the entire council to discuss."

  "Have you seen his unit?" Maria asked, raising her eyes to glare admonishingly at Kairos.

  "Usually I'd suggest dinner first before asking that question," Deerbron said, laughing, before wincing in pain as Najda elbowed him in the ribs.

  "No," Kairos huffed, picking up a datapad and bringing it to his face, "I don't see how that makes any..."

  His words died out as his smile left him. There was no mirth in his face, nor on any council member's as they stared at their own respective tablets. Even so, Maria doubled down, flicking her wrist as the table's centerpiece casted a projected model of Cameron's Headsman.

  "It can't be..." Kairos said in a shocked whisper.

  "No... it can," Deerbron said, amusement disappearing from his tone in an instant, "The thrusters are a new touch, but I know that cloak anywhere... That's -"

  "Ella's mech," A new voice filled the room, deep and gravelly, like the toll of a church bell, accompanied by the sound of pressurized heavy breathing.

  Everyone turned to see one council member on his feet. He was tall and fit, still young enough in his Omega ranking to not lose all of his muscle tone yet. He wore a loose, sleeveless jacket, pushing the hood back and revealing a mop of dark hair tipped with streaks of white that dangled over a set of glowing pitch black eyes, twin orbs of void who's only illumination was that of the transparent binary code running across them. He leaned forward on the table, putting so much augmented force down that the laminated wood whined and cracked underneath the strain. He didn't notice. He was too busy staring at the projected image of The Headsman, his chest heaving as he deeply exhaled through a half-face mask.

  "Fletcher..." Maria said, reaching up with a hand to place it on the man's shoulder "It's okay... please calm down... I know this is trouble to see but-"

  "I never thought I'd see it again..." Fletcher said, not taking his eyes off the image, "I'd heard it was scrapped."

  "Apparently, you were lied to," Deerbron said, chuckling softly, finding his humor once again, that quickly faded as he realized what he'd said. His eyes widened as he held up his hands in placation, "Sorry Fletch, I-I didn't mean anything by it, I-"

  There was a sharp intake of breath as gasps rang out. Neon eyes darting back and forth between Fletcher, still awestruck by the projection and an apologizing Deerbron right next to him.

  Fletcher's expression didn't change, he didn't even look the man's way. Instead, in a flash of movement, he grabbed Deerbron's skull, slamming it into the corner of the table so hard it snapped, taking the man's face, along with the rest of his body to the floor as he wailed in pain.

  No one spoke for a long time, leaving the awkward heavy silence be held at bay by Deerbron's groaning, before, after a moment, Fletcher spoke.

  "I volunteer," He said said in a wispy plea, his tone even and calm, despite his assault on a fellow council member a moment prior.

  Maria blinked, shaking her head in confusion, "You volunteer for what?"

  Fletcher shrugged, "Whatever let's me meet him," He turned to her then, cocking an eyebrow as his mask hissed with a release of air, "I assume we're talking about this now because he's on his way here?"

  Maria nodded, "His master's ship requested an arrival window, scheduled for tomorrow."

  "Master?" Fletcher asked, raspy voice echoing hollowly.

  "He's relinquished," Kairos said, pulling Fletcher's attention to him as the others nodded in agreement.

  "Interesting..." He said, looking down as if deep in thought. Without another word, he turned, walking briskly towards the door leading out of the board room.

  "Fletcher?" Maria called, "Fletcher, what are you going to do?"

  "I'm an event organizer, Maria" Fletcher said, not bothering to look back, "I'm gonna do what I do best... Get people's attention."

  "B-But we're not done here!" She said,

  "I am." He shot back, slamming the door behind him as he exited, leaving the most powerful people in all of Free Space in stunned silence.