"Sibilis, start when you are ready," Garrick said.

  He could almost feel the tension in the three people hovering beside him, and he tried to stay relaxed.

  The screens before them showed Hilbert's body, if one could even still call it such, lying in a modified cryopod. Only his head resembled that of a living human, while his body was a mummified, crumpled mess. Tiny lights whirred in his open eyes, showing that the Implant was active.

  Garrick's H.U.D. showed an overlay over Hilbert's head. It wasn't unlike the one Crux showed him of his own brain, but unlike his, Hilbert's entire brain was red to indicate it was taken over by the Precursor AI.

  A blueish glow appeared around the brain.

  "I have commenced the attack, Captain," Sibilis said. "There is more resistance than The Tealclaw's logs show when it worked on your implant."

  Garrick didn't react, waiting quietly to see what would happen.

  Suddenly, Hilbert's face contorted in a horrible rictus of unlife, his mouth gaping wide, showing gleaming, unnatural parts. A muted groan was relayed to them.

  "Damn this," Macdewil said, his voice almost a growl. "We need to figure out how to stop this from happening ever again!"

  Garrick agreed but remained quiet, staring at the monster that had been a friend.

  A beep came from his H.U.D. while a small icon appeared to show he only had a short-range local connection, and all outside connections were being interrupted. Before he could worry, Sibilis spoke.

  "Captain, the LLM is trying to contact onboard systems that are potentially infected. I have cut off all available venues for it to do so, from radio waves to light. However, this does mean we are currently blocked."

  "Fine, make sure nothing can get through. I do hope you are making some headway?" Garrick asked as he looked at Hilbert's still completely red brain.

  "Yes, I am about to penetrate the first part of the enemy's system defense on multiple fronts. However, for only such a small, self-contained LLM, it is putting up far more resistance than should be possible. If we extrapolate this to an LLM or even an AI with more hardware, it is unlikely that I could defend against intrusions, let alone retake a compromised asset at my current operational output of eight percent."

  Garrick clenched his hands around his arms, wondering how much worse things could get and instantly scolding himself for the thought.

  "What would you need to be able to atleast defend against intrusions?" Macdewil asked.

  "I would need to run at atleast fifty percent capability, which would require parts from three mainframes. Also, an increased ability to interrupt signals would be needed," The Sibilis said calmly. "I am sending you specifics now."

  Garrick saw a package enter, but before he could look at it, there was a soft beep. An icon appeared that showed Crux had blocked outgoing speech.

  "Captain, my calculations show that I'd be able to penetrate through those defenses with only my current capabilities," Crux said, his voice conveying a slight confusion. "I am unsure why The Sibilis is taking such a long time, as with its remaining processing power, it should have broken through minutes ago."

  Garrick had to force himself to keep breathing normally. His mind began running in overdrive as he watched The Sibilis continue to 'attack' the Implant. He covertly looked around to validate there were no cameras. If there were, The Sibilis could easily use lipreading to determine what he was seeing. Finding none, he exhaled softly, trying to remain calm.

  There were two options to what was happening now. Either Crux was lying, or The Sibilis was, meaning either of the two could be compromised. If it was Crux, there was nothing he could do about it…

  Besides, if it was Crux, he could have easily taken me over by now, Garrick thought.

  Macdewil was still muttering in the background, sometimes asking questions, but he ignored them for now.

  "Crux, is there a way for you to determine if The Sibilis is compromised?"

  There was a moment of quiet, showing just how many calculations Crux needed to answer.

  "Yes, but it would be best to cut off The Sibilis connection to all systems before attempting, Captain," Crux said.

  "Which systems are those?" Garrick asked.

  "The aft sensors and the temporary habitat."

  Garrick felt a slight relief. "There is no way for The Sibilis to control any of the crucial systems?"

  "No, Captain. Engineer Macdewil rerouted all direct couplings for his temporary repairs."

  Garrick was quiet as he stared at what remained of Hilbert.

  "Can you determine if anyone is using the Habitat right now?"

  "There are currently two crew members inside," Crux said.

  "Could The Sibilis harm them in any way?" Garrick asked, crossing his arms.

  The image of Hilbert's brain showed the outer edges now appeared partially blue, but he wondered how much was even real.

  "It could potentially attempt to override the hatch, causing it to malfunction and open before decompression is done," Crux said.

  "Can you prevent this?" Garrick asked.

  "No, Captain. But my calculations show that if I attack the Sibilis, it is unlikely that it will be able to do anything but defend."

  Garrick frowned. "Are you saying you can hack The Sibilis?"

  "Yes, captain, though it would require your consent…"

  How is this even possible? Garrick thought, picturing the tiny Implant. It shouldn't have that much processing power.

  Wait…

  "What do you mean, consent?" he asked.

  "With the Implant, I am able to use up to eighty percent of your brain's processing ability to augment my own. This would allow me to overpower The Sibilis as long as it is below twelve percent of its total processing power."

  Garrick licked his lips, growing highly uncertain of what to believe now.

  "You are telling me that between my brain and the implant, we can rival up to twelve percent of The Sibilis?"

  "Yes, Captain. Technically, and with enough time, we could create more processing units in different parts of your brain to vastly increase this potential. But that would take time we don't have right now."

  And it would require me to agree to it, Garrick thought, knowing a whole lot of extra things would have to go wrong before he would agree to anything that involved turning him into even less of a human than he already felt he was.

  "What would the consequence of this be?" he asked.

  "Depending on how long it takes, your brain might overheat, and I would need to use more energy than normal. It could potentially damage some areas of your brain, which would take some time to repair."

  Garrick looked around, noticing the curious faces of the other three as they watched the ongoing hacking of Hilbert's Implant.

  "How big is the chance that Hilbert's implant is capable of the same thing Captain Braddock did when she hacked Hilbert and that this is what The Sibilis is attempting right now?"

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Forty-eight percent, Captain. The act was more likely done by the Precursor AI through Captain Braddock. As I'll be attacking right away, The Sibilis is not going to have time to try to harm the others. Also, it is highly likely that The Sibilis is only partially compromised, and one of its systems is hampering the hacking while attempting to connect to Hilbert's Implant. I would suggest a three-fold strategy. Sending a message to all present to close their eyes, turn around, and leave the room immediately. At the same time, I will commence an attack on The Sibilis, trying to detect its compromised parts and bring them to The Sibilis's attention. Lastly, we should vent the atmosphere in the compartment Officer Hilbert is in."

  Garrick listened to Crux's explanation while watching the hacking on the screen.

  "What if you are wrong, and The Sibilis is entirely compromised?"

  "In this case, I will take over The Sibilis's mainframe and force a hardware reset, Captain," Crux said. "This should prompt an initial diagnosis by the backup of The Sibilis, which will detect and eliminate any compromised systems."

  Garrick sighed. He'd felt so good when he woke up; his body was finally fixed, and now this was happening.

  "Chance of success?" he asked.

  "Ninety-nine percent, Captain," Crux said. "There is a tiny possibility that part of your implant is still compromised and will try and interfere."

  "There is no other way to do a hardware reset of The Sibilis?" he asked.

  "There's a twenty-seven percent probability that we can reach its mainframe and perform one without it interfering."

  Garrick hesitated for only a few moments before making up his mind. He didn't believe Crux was compromised, as it had already shown the ability to do things without his exact consent. That meant that if it had wanted to, it could have easily manipulated him already.

  Who says it's not doing so right now? a tiny part of him asked.

  Garrick ignored the thought. No, he had to trust Crux, as annoying as that was.

  "Alright, start the plan," he said.

  He saw a few icons appear on his H.U.D. showing that messages had been sent. A moment later, he felt himself go fuzzy.

  "You will likely go unconscious for a few minutes, Captain."

  Great, Garrick thought, wondering if he'd just made a big mistake.

  --

  Macdewil saw the message appear in his corner and almost ignored it. Why was Garrick sending him a message if he could just…

  He read it, then read it again.

  Shit…

  Without hesitation, he closed his eyes and turned around before opening them as he reached for the door.

  There was a surprised muttering from Yuri, followed by a series of beeps.

  "Captain Garrick appears to be compromised! His Implant has taken over and is currently attem… attempt… attempting… to…"

  The Sibilis's voice broke up as Macdewil opened the hatch, pulling himself out. As soon as he was, he looked around, but none of the screens showed anything but blackness.

  Nurses Yuri and Marryland floated out of the room, eyes wide, and he quickly closed the hatch behind them. It was probably not needed, but he wasn't going to take any risks.

  "What is going on?" Maryland asked, her voice a pitch higher than normal.

  "Garrick says The Sibilis is compromised, and his implant is attacking it to take it over," Macdewil said as he closed the door behind them.

  Yuri's eyes widened, and she asked the question Macdewil had been wondering about for the last ten seconds.

  "What if The Sibilis is right and Captain Garrick is the one compromised?"

  Macdewil pulled the wall socket from beside the hatch and grimaced as he quickly removed the opening mechanism.

  "The Captain worried about the same thing, which is why he ordered me to keep him locked in there until we can figure out what is going on."

  We really need a way to get rid of this bloody precursor AI, he thought as he hovered away from the hatch.

  "I'll be explaining to the rest why The Sibilis isn't responding," he said, drifting away. "Don't open that hatch."

  --

  Garrick woke to a fuzzy mind. Every thought came slow, and he felt a distant, throbbing pain. His H.U.D. was on, but for some reason, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. The text seemed jumbled, the icons blurry, and every time he tried to concentrate on one, the meaning of either slipped his mind.

  "Crux," he muttered,

  "Captain, do you need that minute now, or would you like to be informed of what is happening?" Crux answered, slightly upbeat.

  It took Garrick a few seconds to understand Crux was probably making a joke. That should worry him… but he couldn't figure out why.

  "Why can't I think straight?" he asked, which seemed the most important thing to understand.

  "It took longer and required more effort to crack The Sibilis, Captain, and I am sorry to say that your brain suffered from it. That said, there is no need to worry. It is already healing nicely and should be back to normal in another few days."

  Something in that sentence should trigger him, but he couldn't figure out what. Besides, an image of his brain appeared in his HUD, showing it was nearly completely orange, with some red areas.

  "Why… are you talking… differently?" Garrick asked, trying to will his mind to function but barely able to form the words. He knew he should be worried, but even that wasn't working properly.

  "I am not, Captain, but the damage to your brain is likely causing some dissonance," Crux said. "It should be clearing up soon, although full functionality will not return for another two days and ten hours."

  Garrick looked at the ceiling, wondering when he'd floated up to it. Pushing himself back cost more effort as he had to focus on moving his hands, but as he turned around, he saw the screen was still turned on, showing Hilbert's unmoving shape.

  "The Sibilis?"

  "Almost done rebooting, Captain. A large portion of the ship's systems was infected, and the only reason that The Sibilis wasn't completely taken over was due to its enhanced anti-hacking systems."

  Garrick groaned as he felt something clicked in his mind. A moment later, his thoughts stopped running like a broken machine, and he shook his head, moving his hands as they should.

  "Give me a full rundown of what happened," he grunted.

  "Yes, Captain."

  For the next ten minutes, Crux explained everything that had happened, though Garrick had to make him repeat himself a few times.

  "So, when The Sibilis's reboot is done, it should purge all connected systems," he said.

  "Yes, Captain. Which should be any moment now."

  Garrick glanced at Hilbert's unmoving, horribly disfigured face.

  "Any more information on Hilbert's Implant?" he asked softly.

  "It stopped functioning twenty minutes after the pressure and atmosphere were removed from the room, and it has likely gone dormant. I contemplated hacking it after finishing with The Sibilis LLM, but the damage to your brain was already large, and it didn't seem to match your likely desire. Is this correct?"

  "It is," Garrick said.

  He floated in the center of the room, trying to determine what he should do now. He was still hesitating if Crux could be trusted, but he knew that part of that was due to his distaste for LLM and AI in general. The fact that it was now in his head and slowly changing what he was made it worse.

  "How are Macdewil and the others doing?" he asked.

  "Engineer Macdewil and his men have been disconnecting every system they can find and so far have found and destroyed multiple that had started misbehaving," Crux said. "There are only a few systems remaining until he will have disconnected anything of potential issue on the ship."

  "There are thousands of systems," Garrick said in slight disbelief.

  "Thirteen thousand, four hundred and eighteen to be exact, Captain," Crux said. "Over half have been completely destroyed, while many others are beyond repair. Of those still in working order, only a few hundred were still powered on."

  "What? How can they still be powered on?" Garrick asked, frowning.

  "Captain Macdewil asked me to wait to inform you of his findings until he could do so himself, Captain," Crux said.

  Garrick hesitated, then decided he trusted Macdewil enough to wait. Whatever it was could either wait or needed context the engineer didn't think Crux could give.

  With a beep, his H.U.D. depicted a set of icons he had only seen during one of his training sessions decades ago—a reset icon for a ship's main LLM.

  "Sibilis Systems reactivating," a soft voice chimed. "Detecting damaged vessel. Detecting damaged core systems. Detecting damaged sub-systems. Resetting all systems to default."

  The screen in front of Garrick flickered off, and so did all the lights.

  They repeated this for a few minutes before remaining on while an automated message played.

  "Database is corrupted. Request to restore the backup database. Captain's manual override is required. Captain Garrick, please move to the nearest console."

  "Will that one do?" Garrick asked, pointing at the temporary console that they had used to observe and interact with the area that held Hilbert's body.

  "It should, Captain," Crux replied.

  Garrick grunted as he pulled himself to the small console before the screen. A request to enter his personal codes was displayed on the screen, and it took Garrick a few moments to remember them all. When he did, he entered them, following the verbal and gesture parts of the security measure.

  As soon as he entered the final data, there was a long beep followed by three short. Garrick knew it was an archaic message that most people had long since lost the meaning of but that Captains had to learn.

  "Multiple memory errors. Disconnecting faulting memory units."

  There was a moment of quiet, and then a single beep came, followed by another automated message.

  "Backup LLM databases restored. Two minutes till full reboot."

  A countdown appeared, and ten seconds before it finished, it vanished.

  "Captain Dasbartin, backup restoration has succeeded. All systems have been purged and reinstalled. I am currently working at six percent capacity. My added anti-hacking systems are only semi-operational, and I suggest prioritizing repairs there."

  Garrick let out a weary sigh.

  "Crux, how sure are we that The Sibilis is now uncompromised?"

  "Close to one hundred percent, Captain. There were no signs of physical changes made to the mainframe, meaning that the backup was fine. All system purges were in order, and I have been running checks on The Sibilis LLM until the last minute. Everything seems in order."

  "That's good," Garrick muttered. "Then get me Macdewil."

  "Yes, Captain.”