kittyboy: "@all, I'm setting myself to do not disturb. Please contact me only if it's an emergency."

  Wasn't there always an emergency? I complained, but I was in a good mood.

  I was on Oblivion. I was alive. I had a new ARM. I had reimplemented my Puppy Eyes. My body wasn't sore. I didn't have any significant memory gaps. I had forgotten that feeling of a fresh new body. Oh, I didn't want to die again, but when you've been battered around long enough, an organic reset does just the trick.

  We were heading off to Umbilicus Station. Not my choice, but @horus had been clear about that in our negotiations. I was optimistic about getting to know my new crew members. I didn't want to distrust all of them, even though I told myself that was what I needed to do. They have to earn your trust.

  I was expecting problems, but they were all so excited to be aboard a Valkyrie ship that I mainly had to keep Oblivion from stepping out of line.

  Oblivion already had an inflated ego. You send it a few dozen starstruck fans to fawn over every detail - the powerful engines, the advanced weaponry, the sleek design, the expensive materials used to elevate every aspect from the chairs to the toilets - and, well, you can expect how Oblivion would react.

  It was like a child showing its new favorite person all of its toys.

  Oblivion: "This is my Aural Matrix! Superior audio quality. Audiophiles will not find better."

  Oblivion: "And these are my navigation coordinate buttons. Press and be amazed at the sensory feedback!"

  Oblivion: "This is my laughter button. It does not work, but it is fun to press. Ha ha ha. Press it!"

  It wasn't a laughter button. It was an ejection button. But I was able to intervene before we lost one of our more enamored crew members.

  Not only had they not been on a Valkyrie, but they weren't accustomed to a ship with a personality. I was glad it kept them occupied.

  At first, the new crew didn't seem to like that I was the one in command. We're on the murder ship, with the broken aiways in control. We're all going to die! But as soon as they saw me with Boom, they didn't complain. They were too scared of us. That got me through the first few hours without incident.

  After that, with Oblivion constantly yammering on about how awesometacular it was, the mood on the ship started to lighten. I could see some of them coming around. Was the ship dangerous? Hell yes! But it was funny. I decided I might even want a few to join my crew permanently.

  But, for now, all was well. Boom was finally no longer following me around everywhere I went, having discussed our arrangement with Oblivion, so I was free to roam about my ship.

  My first mission, then, was to see @sundial. She had some explaining to do.

  I turned right, walking quickly down the hallway, trying not to run. @sundial had said to meet her by the pool. I still couldn't believe we had a pool and a hot tub on our starship. Why would one ever leave the ship? The pool was down on the lower level, in the front of the ship, with views of space on three sides. Above us, on the middle level, would be the restaurant and a large commons area.

  I opened the door, excited to see the pool for the first time and confirm that it wasn't just a rumor or a trick Oblivion was playing on us. I wouldn't have put it past Oblivion to pretend there was a pool, only to find out it was a hatch leading out into space.

  The lights in the room were dim. Viewers lined the area, showing a real-time display of space, as if there were real windows around us. We were bubble-warping with our DEAD drive, so the view was a hypnotic flow of rushing stars as we bent the world around us. It seemed dreamy and surreal.

  I heard soft splashes before I saw @sundial.

  I walked over to the pool in the direction of the splashing. It was pleasant in here, not too cold, slightly humid. The smell of salt water permeated the air. This would be a nice place for plants. The prior owners of Oblivion had valued function and elegance, but with a different aesthetic than my own. Their idea of elegance was to use expensive materials. They had skimped on plantlife.

  @sundial was swimming in the direction away from me, approaching the far wall. Everyone in the Alliance Starmada had been trained to swim. There were so many underwater oceans that, although my time was mostly in space, water was a common part of many civilizations - the larger cities, anyway. We needed to be prepared for anything, especially after the Occator Flood on Mariana-1, and that meant rigorous swimming instruction.

  But I hadn't swum in 47 years.

  @sundial eyed me as she made her turn, placing a hand against the far wall, spinning, and kicking off with powerful legs. I waved as she passed by. She flowed through the water gracefully, her body obscured by the ripples in the water. I was surprised by how fast she swam. I imagined myself trying to keep up with her and figured she'd be at least twice as fast as me.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  When she touched the opposing wall, she spun and kicked again, but this time she dove down toward the very bottom. Now that she wasn't splashing along the surface, I could make out her form clearer beneath the water as she extended her arms and legs out, kicking hard to push herself to the bottom of the pool.

  She touched the bottom and rotated toward me, ascending to the surface to where I was standing. She spat out a little water as her head popped out, and she ran a hand over her long blond hair to pull it away from her face.

  "You just going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to jump in?" she teased, staring at me with her brown eyes.

  "I don't think you're supposed to swim in worm-infested waters," I replied. My joke made me cringe. The thought of a worm wriggling its way inside my body gave me shivers. I hadn't died that way, and I had no intention of ever letting that happen.

  "I'm not a Worm anymore," @sundial said with a profound smile. "The Alliance Starmada promoted me! I'm no longer an Apprentice. You are looking at a full-fledged Infiltrator!"

  She spread her arms wide as she said it, laughing, pushing back and up off the wall, like she was announcing her new self to the world. The sound of her splash drowned out my initial Congratulations.

  I couldn't help but wonder if she had been promoted, in part, because she helped capture me. I didn't want to spoil her moment, though. Not just yet. I waited until she was treading water to repeat myself.

  "Congratulations! That's huge! We have to celebrate!"

  @sundial beamed back at me, and I almost forgot I was upset with her.

  "Wanna go for a swim?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I still have a few laps in my workout. Then we can celebrate."

  I respected her discipline. I would have hopped right out. Maybe I should pay more attention to her example. She didn't just make Infiltrator by strutting around the solar system making jokes.

  "With you? Of course, I do," I called out. "Just don't make fun of how horribly I swim. It's been a minute."

  I turned my nanosuit into a pair of simple jogging pants, feeling the humid air against my chest. I walked over to a nearby chaise lounge and stepped out of the pants, folding them and leaving them on the chair. I laughed. No one would know this was Infiltrator armor.

  Okay, let's go swimming. You can do this, I encouraged myself, stepping carefully along the wet floor, letting my toes dig into the grippy parts so I didn't fall. Swimming is like riding a spacecycle. It'll come back to you.

  She was waiting patiently at the pool's edge.

  I stood awkwardly in front of her.

  The steps into the pool were about 20 paces away. But I knew she expected me to jump in, and I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of pulling me over the edge, so I leapt in as a Vanquisher ought to.

  The cold water surrounded me. I got water up my nose, uncomfortably, and rose to the surface coughing. But, heck, at least I had remembered how to swim and made it to the surface. I was even doing a passable job at treading water.

  The sensation of water around my body felt amazing, refreshing. Being held up by water was like being hugged by the universe, like floating through space, but with arms around you.

  And then I realized I did have arms around me. @sundial had swam over. She pulled me close and kissed my dripping lips.

  "Sorry," she whispered, looking me in the eyes, water dripping down her face. "I didn't know another way to protect you other than to kill you."

  So, she was aware. She did realize I'd be hurt. It wasn't much by way of explanation, but it was simple and sincere. And I welcomed the feel of her cold body touching me, even briefly. Then she flittered away, back into her rhythm, swimming laps at warp speed as we zipped through space.

  "You do owe me an explanation," I called after her.

  @sundial was an Infiltrator. She was good at controlling the flow of information, manipulating the situation, and she wasn't ready to talk about what had happened on Oblivion. But she was ready to celebrate her promotion, and we could finally spend time together.

  We rounded the last corner toward my captain's quarters, and I ventured to take @sundial by the hand now that we were away from prying eyes. Aiways wandering a starship in wet towels wasn't a common sight. We could have put on our Infiltrator suits and expelled the dampness, but I insisted on trying to keep the experience as authentic as possible. Her hand was still cool to the touch, and her hair was still wet from the pool.

  We entered my room, and I felt guilty about how large my quarters were, thinking back on how I had made a home of my tiny i35. This was luxury by comparison. This was @bronzelion's ship after all. I thought about taking a different room and converting this one into a lounge. The individual rooms were spacious enough. Surely, I didn't need more than that.

  But, for now, this was my living area, a suite with a small kitchen, a dining area, a bathroom with a shower and tub, a bedroom with a king-size bed, and a small family room with a plush couch, chairs, a fireplace, and a television viewer. I even had a separate office up on the top level near the command center, with my own private stairwell to go from my lounge up to the office. Too much space for one person.

  I headed to the linen closet to grab a warm blanket, letting an animated @sundial wander the rooms with a sense of awe.

  "This is all really yours?" @sundial asked, disappearing into the living room.

  "The jerk who had Oblivion before me liked to live the good life, I guess," I replied. "But yeah, this is where I live now. You know, when I'm not dead."

  "I said I was sorry," @sundial repeated, returning from around the corner. She was holding her towel tightly around her with one hand, with her Infiltrator armor dangling in the other.

  I joined her by the entrance to the living room and held the blanket out, studying her face. "We should warm up. I don't know about you, but my hands are freezing."

  "Look," she said. "They were hell-bent on your destruction. I offered to help bring you in. It didn't work out how I planned, but I was doing it for you."

  I waited to see if there was anything more she wanted to say, but I knew it was my turn. "I forgive you." That was mostly true. I was still a little pissed about it.

  "And I suppose I should thank you," I added. "My mind tells me this was among the best possible outcomes, intended or not."

  She smiled, letting out a relieved breath. She tossed her Infiltrator suit on the couch and took my hands in hers. "Oh my god! You are cold."

  "I told you!" I laughed.

  "Well, so am I," she complained. "This whole authentic thing isn't as nice as being warm."

  I wrapped the blanket around us and pulled her close to me. Finally, we were together, hearts pounding against each other in the quiet of space.