Adam hated it when guests were on the ship.

He tolerated Nova for Null and Lars's sakes but that didn't mean he had to like him. Nova had an uncanny knack for avoiding detection.

It was unnerving for the AI to find Nova suddenly on board The Blackstar. He knew the Auger did it on purpose. It was a personal vendetta of Nova's since the Purple Unicorn bandaid incident.

But after watching Nova hit the floor, blood dribbling from his nose Adam felt a cold shiver of fear run through his circuits. 

Everyone froze except the woman with them. Bloodied but upright she was the first to move. "Are we going to just stare at him?" She snapped. "Don't any of you have any medical training?"

Lars stepped forward scooping up Nova. "Heisenberg get up here."

Seconds later, Heisenberg entered with the speed and agility built into one of his kind. The aged battle droid's battle prowess was unquestioned. It was his everyday programming that was a little less certain.

"I came as quick as I could, my Queen," he said, mixing his titles. He took stock of each person. From the disheveled strangers to Lars and Nova.

"What happened to the Potentate?" He asked.

"That remains to be seen," Adam said. "Lars?"

"Ayn is friendly, that man is Darius Dawson," Lars said. "He's very much a f--" Lars stopped, his body shook in place. His face remained frozen halfway through his last word.

"Lars?" Ayn moved to Lars and waved a hand to his face.

The man on the other side of her stood also but his expression was one of satisfaction.

"I'm afraid your friend is having to deal with... inner problems."

"What did you do to him?" The girl demanded. She took towards Darius, but Heisenberg moved protectively in front of her.

"I only had a conversation with the lovely Astraea. Did you know she wanted a body?"

"What, I don't..." Ayn tried to reconcile what was happening. She flicked a glance over at Lars, who was simply standing there, Nova dangling in his arms, his nose still bleeding. Blood hit the floor in tiny splatters.

"Words have meanings, even to an AI. She has such a yearning to feel."

"What did you do?"

"Ok, your royalness," Heisenberg interrupted. "I think the goddess would like more of an explanation."

Adam felt the tug of the planet as The Blackstar shook as it breaking the planet's gravitational pull. He oriented their location and set the course for home. The plan was to bring this man to New Elysium to be tried for his crimes. Nothing had changed. He scanned Ayn. Her bones were coated in titanium, the numbers were even registered. #453696, augmented. 

Adam surveyed the scene. They had launched. His immediate Captain was out of commission. The second in command appeared to be locked in an inner duel.

That left Heisenberg to clean up the mess. Adam felt a chuckle ripple through his circuits. Heisenberg's programming was badly damaged but he doubted that Null would ever get it fixed.

Heisenberg locked his eyes on Darius. Adam knew even with the battle droid's extensive knowledge of fighting, he was no match for the Neo-Tokyan. Red was the only one who had beaten him.

Correction. He had died and been brought back.

"Hypocrit," Adam muttered to himself. He ran through his options. He could vent them all and explain to Null that all hands were lost. He liked Lars. Lars was the only one of them who would survive the cold of space relatively unscathed.

But Nova was her favorite. And he never would want to hurt Null by disposing of him.

He reached out to Lars attempting to connect to his mental cyberscape.

The ground split around him and lightning cackled. He opened his eyes.

A woman stood between him and Lars. He recognized Lars immediately, a white-haired man with black eyes wearing white clothes and barefoot.

The woman had a gray body, black eyes, and a bald head. She'd never been human.

"You do not belong here," Adam said from behind her.

She whipped around, her face distorted. "He promised me! I would have a body, I would feel, I would---"

"He lied."

"No," Astraea said. "He did not. I just have to stop you and turn this ship around. I am a ships AI. Do either of you think you can stop me?"

She grew then and Adam realized that she had Lars in her thrall. He was wrapped in bindings, his face contorted. He was trapped in his own mind.

He pushed forward and smacked into a wall. The barrier was complete, she'd taken over. Her pale face was triumphant as she gazed back at him, her grip on the siren's body complete.

"Withdraw," Astraea commanded. "Lars will stay as he is with me."

She waved her hand, and Adam felt his body fly back.

In less than a nanosecond, he was observing the body of Lars through the viewports of the ship. Lars, now Astraea dumped Nova to the floor. She raised her hands in fascination and touched the wall. 

"Is this it?" The voice altered and became higher pitched. "Is this what it is to feel?" Her fingers ran over the smooth wall.

"Astraea?" The girl moved towards Nova and put a finger on his neck. Even from his vantage point, Adam could see he still had a pulse.

"You see, building trust is the first step in the perfect betrayal." 

Darius moved to the computer, his hands touched the console. "I simply showed her a better way to get what she wanted. Not spending years saving up enough credits only to be denied. We had plenty of time to chat, Astraea and I."

Adam felt Darius's touch seeping into the system. Adam would have gagged if he could have. Revulsion filled him. Darius didn't do anything other than check their heading.

He didn't alter course. He smiled as he gazed up at the screen.

"Perhaps one of you could now tell me where my insignificant... son-in-law is? And my son and daughter?"

Heisenberg looked at Astraea as she looked around. Adam could tell the old battle droid was trying to figure out what had just happened.

"My Queen, the only one who currently knows is unconscious."

Darius glanced down at the Auger again. "I was afraid of that. Oh well, I can access that information from him when the time comes. Astraea, be a dear and use your newfound body to dispose of the rest of these."

"No," Heisenberg was between them again.

Astraea moved to attack Heisenberg. It was clumsy but Adam knew the AI simply needed to get used to the body.

He turned off the artificial gravity. The grav-wheel stopped turning. The Blackstar churned through space, but its occupants were now free floating.

Darius ground out a curse as he free-floated towards the console. Heisenberg managed to intercept him, his large metallic body crashing into the man, sending them both careening in opposite directions.

Ayn spun towards Astraea kicking off the wall with the ease of a born spacer. Blood dropped out of her opened forehead would sending little dots of crimson floating around the corridor.

"How could you do this?" Venom dripped from each syllable.

"You wouldn't understand, I--" Ayn crashed into Astraea who lifted her hands to ward off the augment. Ayn hit the siren unit with a closed fist and held on.

"I wouldn't?" Ayn yelled. "I've spent half of my life hiding, the other half getting a job from the people who gave us a safe haven, US, you and I, and YOU..."

Ayn ran out of words. Astraea socked the girl across her wound, splitting the skin even more.

Ayn screamed but drew her hand back and hit the droid back. The blow was unexpected and did far more damage as Astraea's head rocked back. The skin on Ayn's knuckle split sending more rivulets of blood around the ship's interior.

Adam split his attention between the combatants. Darius and Heisenberg crashed wildly around each other, Heisenberg using crazy titles that made no sense. Darius avoided Heisenberg's blows while attempting to make his way toward the console. Ayn and Astraea's battle was far more personal. Adam understood what that kind of betrayal was.

Beyond them, Nova's body floated unnoticed and forgotten.

Shit, Adam thought. Nova was the one person who could lock down everyone on the ship with a simple thought and he'd put himself out of commission.

It meant Adam would have to save him.

Darius's hands hit the console and for a brief moment, he entered the system. But Heisenberg was upon him again, ripping the hands away.

"For god sake, use your weapon, idiot!" Adam's voice breached the battle, freezing the combatants in place.

Adam paused. His best weapon was music. And not just any music. He giggled inwardly. He didn't need to wake up Nova at all. At least not yet.

Forget the power of love and all of that. Alonian Opera was a favorite of AI but could split the eardrums of any humans who listened to it at high volume. Being originally human himself, Adam couldn't stand it, but Null kept it around as a useful tool for subduing those who stood in her way.

The dreaded cybernetic chords pierced throughout the vessel.

Three things happened at once. Both Darius and Ayn reacted to the warped melody. Darius covered his ears and kicked away from Heisenberg. Ayn covered her ears floating where she was.

Heisenberg launched himself at the newly freed Astraea, the impact sending both units into the wall.

Adam took the opportunity to push back into Lars's body.

The dizziness lasted only a nanosecond and he was standing at the edge of familiar territory. Astraea's strange cybernetic angel form had her back turned to Lars. Her concentration was entirely focused on the battle droid.

It was enough for Lars to open the door.

Adam pushed in, his first instinct was to cut Astraea from the body.

<No!> Lars sent the message directly to him. <Take me to Nova!>

Adam could see Lars's plan form in his head and was briefly ashamed that he hadn't thought of it first. Just because the organic part of Nova's brain was unconscious didn't mean Lars couldn't take over.

<Release control,> He took Lars's extended hand.

As he turned he was met with Astraea's estranged cry. Cracks filled the sky. She'd taken quite a blow from Heisenberg.

<I don't have any connection,> Lars admitted as he grasped onto Adam's hand.

Adam pulled the droid out and Lars sailed with him back into the ship's cyberspace.

"Nooo!" Astraea yelled. "I've lost him!"

"You might want to turn that down," Lars said as pushed away from Adam. In the depths of The Blackstar's cyberscape, Lars reached out to Nova and vanished from Adam's senses.

Adam returned the gravity and bodies hit the floor. The Alonian Opera vanished he took stock of the situation. 

Nova's eyes opened wide and he stood straighter than Nova had ever done in his life.

"Lars?" Adam ventured. "How is Nova?"

"Eh, he's asleep," Lars said. "I don't think he slept at all on the way here, and then just kept going."

Ayn uncovered her ears. "Lars?" She pointed at Nova, "Wait, you're there?"

"Where's Darius?"

Adam felt a brief moment of panic. He scanned The Blackstar from top to bottom. Astraea was in the room with them. The Neo-Tokyan had vanished.

"Did you invent that tech? Or steal it?" Adam demanded turning on Nova.

Lars opened his mouth to answer when Nova's body shifted. His facial expression turned haughty. "Hey Lars, glad you could join me. I think this is the closest we've ever been. And Adam, tsk tsk, trade secrets."

Adam groaned. He hated Nova so much.

"If he's using my tech, we'll have to hunt him down. My way." He glanced at Astraea with a lifted eyebrow. "Power down, we'll deal with you in a second." Adam could feel the force of Nova's command. Astraea's body went lifeless. It was yet another reason the Neo-Tokyans slaughtered Augers and Augments like them. They were too powerful.

Nova paused as he wiped his nose. Dried blood stuck to his chin. "Hmm, no band-aids this time. Come on Adam, we hunt him the old-fashioned way."