Ember fled back into the black void, her eyes flew open to the blackness within the box once again. Panicked at the presence, she cried out again. Red, oh god! What was that?

Her palms hit the smooth interior, even as they moved slowly through the liquid she was encased in. It took everything in her not to hold her breath in panic. 

Keep breathing, you are not drowning, she told herself, as she wrapped her arms around her middle. This is oxygen. Keep breathing.

Hello? The presence halted at the edge of her senses Even in the darkness, it felt neither friendly nor hostile. She couldn't see it, it hovered just outside the cable and called as if from a distance. 

It can't get through, she realized. That's me there, my boundaries... 

Who are you? She called back, pushing inside of herself once again, letting go of the physical world and stepping back into the binary. Inside of herself, she could feel the virtual world spread infinitely through her lifeline. This was far larger than her Vesper ship which was merely an extension of herself. She'd never tried going beyond that, traveling on binary waves through space.

And yet...

The other Vesper Adam had done it. He'd survived mostly intact inside his ship, barely awake, when they'd come running in to escape Helion. 

I am called Angel, the voice returned.  It's been a long time since someone spoke to me. 

How did you get in here? Ember hesitated a little. The last time she'd spoken to a being trapped in a vessel he'd done his best to inflict pain on her. 

I was afraid, so I've been hiding in here. That made sense to Ember, given how many AIs had been wiped out and taken offline. 

Is anyone else in here?

No, there used to be, but not anymore. But you, you are not binary, what are you?

You don't know?

The voice hesitated.

I was pretty young at the time of the purge... Angel pulled away. Just created, just self-aware... 

Ember remained just at the edge of herself staring into the void beyond, the world that made up the systems of the Perihelion. 

How did you escape? 

Angel's voice sounded even further away as he pulled away from her. Ember didn't go after him. It was enough to see, and her panic had receded. This might keep her sane until she was home again. If her father intended to strip her of her augments, she could escape at least in some form or another...

I did in the Scandroids, when they go to power up, you can hitch a ride on them. It's quite fun once you get the hang of it. Although if you are detected you can easily be trapped.

Ember hesitated, this AI sounded like a child...

Angel, can you see what's going on, outside?

Vesper, you can come out here and see for yourself. 

So he did know what she was...

I have a bad feeling about that.

Are you afraid?

Ember hesitated before answering. Yes.

His presence did not seem pleased about this. If you do not come out, I shall have to come in.

To her surprise, he tried to cross the barrier, but there was a difference between the binary space and the organic space. She, or at least her essence could cross, but the AI struggled to get past.

Flesh is a difficult matter to cross, he admitted after a moment. There are different ratios to the circuitry of flesh, but it's really not that different.

Why would you want to?

To see if I can, he admitted. I have been playing this game for months, and I'm bored. I wonder if I can get in if you're out. 

What?

Don't you want to see where you are?

No.

Fine, stay trapped in there... I should let you know, a small boarding party managed to abscond onto this ship a few hours ago. 

Red? Her hopes surged.

Is that who they are? It makes sense for the one I suppose, they wear a different uniform... Do you think they'd let me cross?

Angel... organic matter isn't really designed to be crossed by one such as you. 

The AI pouted. It's been a long time since anyone tried if you can be crossed with machines, and yet I see the circuitry inside I should be able to jump through that into you.

What are you? A scientist?

In the darkness, Angel laughed. The laugh made Ember shiver...  You know it's been a long time since I've had a decent conversation with anyone. I think I would like to keep you around longer. Even if you don't want to come out of your box.

What does that mean? Ember shivered against the sudden cold. She had no idea what this AI was doing. It had no motivation like Adam and certainly wasn't friendly like Lars. He was the human version of her brother Caedus, she realized. Always wanting to know what would happen, not caring about the feelings of the subject.

Jack had at least sought a greater good without getting too involved, but Caedus... Ember shivered again...

Hello? Angel? Where did you go? Where is Red?

Ember hesitated at the entrance to the binary world. This AI, Angel, meant to keep Red away from her. She focused on that part, letting it fill her with anger. She was a vesper and part of her training meant she never backed down from a fight.  She crossed over, and stared at the assortment of colors around her. Wherever Angel had gone, she would have to stop him, offer him terms.  Anything... If Red had really come here, she couldn't let anything happen to him.

#######

"Told you I'd get on us on board."

Nova ran a hand through his purple curls and smirked at the man, his Pirate Queen repeatedly referred to as Captain and Red. Offhand, he hadn't seen what was so special about him. Other than the fact that no one else was running around with quite that bright of a mohawk. Ballsy, he decided. The guy was definitely ballsy. 

He liked ballsy.

Back on the Blackstar, Red had simply grabbed whatever weapons he could fit on his person. Red hadn't been much for idle chat, something he knew Larsson appreciated. His entire focus was on this woman they were about to rescue and Nova whistled in appreciation at the man in front of him. She was one lucky girl.

Nova had learned to tell the two entities inside of Larsson apart, so he'd noticed that Null steered clear of Red whenever she was in charge, Lars, on the other hand, took every opportunity to check in on him. Now that they were onboard the Perihelion, Lars stayed at his flank. 

If he didn't know the two of them already he would have assumed they were a couple. Lars and this man had a history. He meant to pry it out of Null, he promised himself. It would be a good story, especially for someone as intense as Red.

On the Perihelion Red halted in front of a door and opened it. It was a shaft, Null groaned. Not again.  

Nova grinned. Ever since the incident back on Six, he'd been able to hear inside her head. He hadn't let on just how much bled over, but with Blue's death, the poor man had left a part of himself within every Augment that had survived the incident. Not much, but just enough to keep him connected to his pirate queen.

Heisenberg made up the fourth member of their little party this time. Larsson hadn't been able to stop him. Red's little demonstration back on the Blackstar impressed the battle bot to the point of hero worship. 

"Empress, I really must insist that you show me you know how to use a gun before I let you take out one from my armory."

"I know how to use a gun, Heisenberg."

Nova had grinned at Red's consternation but ten seconds later, his jaw had dropped. Red had pointed the fake gun at the wall completely opposite from the target and fired. The rubber bullet had ricocheted around the ship coming close to Nova's head before smashing the tin can that Heisenberg had set in the center of the room. 

Nova had openly stared at him, all bravado gone as Red met his eyes. There was no bragging here, this was a warning. Don't fuck this up. There was no doubt in Nova's mind that if they ever had to go head to head, Red wouldn't hesitate to put him down. Nova had swallowed down real fear for the first time in ages. He was out of his league here. 

Red hadn't even looked at the target. 

"Madam!" Heisenberg had cried out. "Any piece you want. It would be an honor!" He glanced over at Larsson, who was also stunned before her pose shifted and she straightened. 

When Lars took over he eyed Red and then saluted, with Heisenberg following suit. 

That was after Null and Lars had to quell an angry Adam who hadn't wanted Red aboard the Blackstar after all. 

Nova pulled a stick of mint gum from his pocket and popped a piece into his mouth as he gauged their surroundings on the Perihelion. Large ships were never as impenetrable as their makers liked to think they were. 

"How did you find the opening?" Red asked from in front of him as they slipped inside the shaft.

"Trade secrets," Nova snapped. "I can't give away everything." 

Red rolled his eyes and stepped back his hand pushing Nova into Lars. "Ladies first."

It was a dig at them both and Nova cracked a grin as  Null tightened her hands around him instinctively and they went shooting up to the next floor. This guy had a sense of humor after all.

They stopped rather suddenly and the door slid open after a moment, Null stepped quickly out of his arms and Lars shifted back into control. "You two are going to have to work out which one of you wants me," Nova remarked as he moved next to him. The full lips quirked as Nova glanced down at them and he realized Lars was holding back a laugh. 

In the back of his mind, he heard a cacophony of swear words that would have made even a hardened soldier blush if he'd heard them out loud. 

Heisenberg materialized next to them and a moment later Red was walking out of the air shaft. 

"Where are we?" Nova looked around. Getting them aboard had been his job. Larsson had tried talking him into staying on the Blackstar, but he'd refused to miss out on all the fun. After that shot, he wanted to see Red in action.

Red moved forward without looking at them. "Prisoners in various states would be kept here. Ember is a problem in her current condition. They'd have to keep her sedated, or contained and this is where they would have done it."

"You mean the way they would have done it in the past?" Null was back in control. 

Red stopped, he hadn't considered this. "I can't access the new controls," he admitted. "They don't really fit a plug-in any more."

"We can," Null responded. "The connections are different now, but we've adapted." She held out her arm and from the top of her hand two wires pushed out through the skin. She grimaced as she did it, but it didn't matter. She needed to hack into the wiring and that was Lars's job. 

Nova couldn't help but take a swipe at Red. "Guess you can't do everything can you pretty boy?"

################

Red stayed back as he watched Null plug herself into a conduit. It was very different from how they'd normally have done it in the past. Less sophisticated but Lars could still get in. Red understood how it worked, but the possibility was there that Lars could get stuck inside the ship. Red wasn't quite prepared to leave him behind again, especially knowing he hadn't died before like he'd thought. 

But that wasn't happening today. Lars straightened his shoulders and stood facing Red. "She IS on this floor Captain, but heavily guarded. And...there's another AI on this ship."

"An AI?" Red glanced at Lars. "That's a good thing, right?"

"I don't know," Lars responded. "He says we can't have her. And he's brought in some men. And Scandroids."

"Wait, he's working for them?"

"Not exactly. More like he drew their attention to us..."

Lars tried explaining the argument he'd had with the other AI named Angel, in real time it had taken nanoseconds, but the lengthy conversation had centered around the AI's desire to cross over into an organic body. He'd hoped Lars would understand as he apparently resided in one just the same. 

But Angel could not understand that Ember was a friend they were coming to rescue.

Nor did he want to give up his prize.

"So we kill him," Red muttered staring down the hallway that otherwise gave no indication they'd been discovered.

"We get him out first," Null corrected. Red didn't answer her but he glanced over at Nova who nodded behind her back.

"He is a credible threat, Emperor," Heisenberg remarked, causing Nova to snicker. 

"Did we bring him along to help, or strictly comic relief?" Nova shifted behind them.  

 Heisenberg swerved his faceless metal head in Nova's direction. "I've killed more of the enemy before you took your first breaths boy." 

"Perfect." In front of them, Red started forward, ignoring the rest of them, his scanners picking up the targets that lay beyond the door. "It's time to go."