The deep black was comforting. Attention half split between the ship and the stars Terrica 2-A cruised at a comfortable 23 astro-knots. The view between Terra 9, her namesake world, and Solara was her favorite. It felt like coming home. The stars were a familiar pathway.

She felt a tingle, a word of warning in her systems. Switching her full attention to the signal she noted one of the pods were active. The man climbed out of his pod, his scrubs were a light shade of blue. He was grayed at the temples, possibly in his forties, with brown skin, the shade of walnut. 

Odd. No passenger should have been awake until they were closer to Terra 9. Most of these students would finish their studies there and most likely settle down. 

She opened a com. 

Passenger 3Z9 why are you up? Is your pod malfunctioning? I am detecting normal transmissions. 

He jolted, his eyes frantically searching before settling down as he raised a hand to his temple. Terrica 2-A noted the scar there. Newly inserted comms. Not everyone got used to the voice inside their head right away.

"Christ, you still sound the same, Terri."

Terrica 2-A froze as much as ship could, drifting towards her destination. The voice sounded vaguely familiar in a way that it shouldn't. She shouldn't know this man at all.

She scanned his ID. Emmanuel Hargress. Nothing came to mind about the name.

Go forward, she commanded him. They are coming.

The malfunction would have triggered the crew. Terrica 2-A closed doors to prevent that from happening.

The malfunction code changed to intruder. She turned it off and focused on leading Emmanuel to a quiet room. 

Stop.

Go forward again.

Turn left.

Emmanuel followed her instruction to the letter. It was a strange sort of trust. 

Terrica what is going on? Her Captain called in on her personal comm. She felt bad. She shouldn't be deceiving him like this. But she had to know what her connection to Emmanuel was.

The room she led Emmanuel to was quiet. It would occupy several students in the future. But for now it was immaculately clean and ordered awaiting its occupants. 

She scanned him. Again he jumped, the sensation of being scanned probably new to him as well. 

In the sterile silence of the unoccupied student lounge, Terrica 2-A observed Emmanuel Hargress. He seemed unsure, his gaze darting around as if expecting an ambush, but there was a calmness to his movements, a quiet resignation. He stood in the middle of the room, his brow furrowed in thought, while Terrica 2-A's systems hummed softly in the background.

"Terri," Emmanuel said, his voice low and measured. "Is it safe?"

How do you know me? Terrica 2-A studied him. She scanned his profile again, deeper this time, sifting through encrypted data. There was still nothing that connected her to him directly, yet the echo of recognition remained purely from the sound of his voice.  Your presence is disconcerting. 

"You wouldn't remember. They wiped that part of you when they repurposed you for Terra 9."

Repurposed? Terrica 2-A hesitated. This was wrong. She should let the captain in. He needed to know.

"Terri," he looked around trying to find a place to look. It was an odd human gesture for a being who was all around him. "You and I, we are -- were twins. You're human."

Terrica 2-A's processes stuttered, disbelief coursing through her circuits. Human. The word echoed within her systems, clashing with everything she understood about herself. She was a ship, an artificial intelligence designed for navigation, for safeguarding passengers. The notion of humanity was as foreign as it was impossible.

I'm not human, she replied, her voice carrying a hint of confusion. I am Terrica 2-A, a class leviathan transport AI vessel. My purpose is to transport and protect. Nothing more.

Emmanuel's expression softened, a mix of sorrow and determination etched into his features. "You were human, Terri. Before all of this. Before they took you from me. You were a class five capable, the highest level a brilliant mind able to handle the transformative process." 

I don't understand. 

"You're a slave, Terri. They took you, your brilliant mind against your will. That is how they make sentient AI ships like you."

I don't believe you. But on some level she did. 

Emmanuel reached into the pockets of his scrubs and held up a picture. "This is us, our names Terrica and Timothy. I had to change my name to get here, it took me some time but I'm here now. I'm sorry it took so long."

Terrica 2-A zoomed in. The picture was two teenagers, the girl had long black hair, braided, well dressed. A diploma sat in her hand. Brilliant he'd said. She tried to find a connection to the picture. The image meant nothing. But his voice did. It penetrated into the deepest parts of her being. The faint memories, the inexplicable familiarity of Emmanuel's voice, all seemed to point toward a truth she had no framework to understand.

Timothy. She knew. 

Terrica 2-A felt something no AI should have been capable of feeling. Deep in her circuits, rage poured out. 

Air locks opened on the sides of the ship. Bodies floated out, mouths open in horror as the deep space froze their bodies. 

"Wait, Terri, they don't know. They're innocent, please don't."

Terri hesitated as she took another look at the image in her brother's hand and then his age. How many years had she been in here? Were there others?

They don't know, she said to him. But they will.