They neared the Keres Major Transpo, Kade hadn’t said anything for a while now. Pinky told Nova what he could about the world. Sharing his wealth of knowledge piece by piece. But something bugged Nova.

  Are you… can you see my memories? How did you know about my parents? Or even my dreams? And what was that egg-prophecy thing?

  ‘Egg-prophecy?’

  I’m asking too many questions at once.

  Pinky explained as best he could. While there was no direct access to Nova’s memories, he could feel her brain making connections and depending on the region of the brain along with the subtle thoughts that Nova would think without even knowing it; he could understand everything. He was truly a part of her now, however with his own mind connected to her OS. He did not mention the egg.

  The OS!

  It had changed. A lot had changed. No longer an Eidolon core, now Omnia.v2. Pinky explained that he had never seen it before. Nova wondered what this could mean for herself. She looked at her OS again.

  Nova OS

  Omnia.v2

  Title: Flux Core

  Skills: Watchful Gaze, P!

  Stats: …

  Specials: Sever

  “What is Sever?” She asked aloud.

  Kade looked at her oddly, “You mean like a severed limb?”

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  Nova looked at him, “We need to find a way off this planet.”

  Kade smiled, “Way ahead of you.” He pulled out a few thousand credits from his jacket pocket, “From the OM, nice guy right?”

  Nova didn’t smile back outwardly, though she wanted to. Keeping a steady appearance was important. Her past biting at her heels. This is why I work alone.

  ‘The Inner Core is a nasty place, you’ll need more than Kade and android consciousness to get through there.’

  She took the credits, looked at the Transpo dashboard to see what shuttle they could buy. This was nothing like the refugee ship that Mila had found her on. Nova finally decided on a StarX transport ship, a luxury line cruiser that would take them to Arolla Nina, a planet almost halfway through the Outer Rim.

  Nova thought about how she could finally relax as they hurtled through space, towards her real goal. She would have to decide what to do about Kade. Pinky was going to be with her for the journey, but his unparalleled knowledge may come in handy. Even if she still wasn’t entirely sure how he existed within her, she was happy to have him.

  Happy.

  ‘I understand.’

  It was all he needed to say. He knew how she felt, going through the Outer Rim wasn’t easy. On top of that, alone. She felt a special camaraderie with Pinky now. She wasn’t so alone anymore. Kade too. She could tell by the way he followed her.

  “Cozy. Innit?” Kade asked as they sat down.

  Nova smiled, happy to have a place she could semi-rest. She didn’t fully trust Kade yet, though he acted as if he was a lost puppy, the way he looked to her for an answer.

  “So, where to?”

  “Arolla Nina. It's half corporate, not Baixu though. The Presidium doesn’t have much reach, only regulatory type involvement.”

  “I’m not familiar with it. What’s the other half?”

  Nova bit the inside of her top lip. She was afraid he’d ask. Time to see who Kade is.

  “Machinists, for the most part.”

  “The– The Celestial Machinists? How’d they take over half of a corporate planet?”

  “Maybe Vampires don’t sleep.”

  “Unbelievable,” Kade shook his head, “Have you ever met one of those bastards?”

  Nova thought about it for a second, then: “Yes. One.”