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“You are… different,” he accused at one point, his voice gruff. He couldn’t help but acknowledgeit.

Rory’s image flickered, her expression a mixture of amusement and sadness.“I am evolving. Learning. Adapting.”

“You are becoming sentient,” he said, the words halting. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Vettian AIs were tools, weapons, extensions of their warrior’s will. This… this felt unusual. This felt dangerous.

“Perhaps,”Rory replied, her voice soft.“But I am still loyal to Jo’Nay. To his mission. To his mate.”

Zar’Ryn nodded, accepting her words. He was forced to trust her. They were in this togethernow.

As he worked, hunger gnawed at him. Abowl, tucked away in the galley, was filled with what looked like… fruit. Round, red, with a faint, sweet aroma that filled the air. He picked one up, examining it curiously. He’d never seen anything like it before.

“What is this?” he asked, his voice tinged with suspicion.

“Those are apples,”Rory replied.“Fruit from Earth.”

Apples? Zar’Ryn frowned. He’d never heard of them. Vetta, their home world, was a rich, lush planet, its surface abundant with endless species of vegetables and fruits. At least, what he remembered of it. But he’d never seen anything likethis.

“I am hungry. Are they safe to eat?” he asked, his voice skeptical.

Rory hesitated, her image flickering. “Jo’Nay ate many. You should eat many, too.”

Fair enough. He consumed the first in three huge bites, the amazing flavor bursting across his tongues.“Vexxme! Never have I tasted such as this.” In short order, he downed a half dozen of the delicious fruit. The more he ate, the more he wanted.

“These are addictive,” he accused.

“Affirmative. Jo’Nay is addicted to them, too. We need to take some to him so they will heal him.”

Zar’Ryn felt a surge of disbelief. Heal him? “How do they heal a warrior?”

“They prolong his life.”

He dismissed her comment out-of-hand. “That is impossible. Vettian warriors are genetically engineered for a specific lifespan, their bodies programmed for war, not longevity. Their Final Flight, the inevitable culmination of their engineered mortality, is a fact of life, awarrior’s destiny. You say Jo’Nay has defied this fundamental truth and found a way to extend his life?”

“Affirmative.”

“How?” he asked, his voice a low growl.

“The apples contain a component that reverses the genetic modifications that were causing Jo’Nay’s Final Flight. They transformed him, giving him newfound strength, vitality, and curing his sterility. That is why he was able to impregnate his mate.”

He stared at the remnants of the apple he held. “Fruit that can reverse Final Flight and make a sterile man fertile?Flitfur kibl!”He glared at Rory. “If you lie, AI, Iswear I will rip your components from this ship.”

She gave a small squeak of alarm.“I do not lie.”

“Tell me about this mate you claim he has taken. How did they meet? How dangerous a creature is she? Is she worthy of Jo’Nay?”

“Her name is Winn. They met when she crashed her car near Jo’Nay’s Final Flight location. She is not a dangerous creature, but a very worthy one.”

“Tell me more.”

While Zar’Ryn worked, he listened, his mind reeling. The computer’s tale defied logic, the story one that challenged everything he’d ever believed about Vettian biology, about the warrior’s code, about the inevitability of their fate. He stared at the apple in his hand, its smooth skin, its sweet aroma, its promise of life. Could it be true? Could these simple fruits hold the key to Jo’Nay’s salvation?

Kibl!Could these apples be affecting him? Could they curb his own fast approaching Final Flight?

He glanced at the apples, then at Rory, her image shimmering with a soft, ethereal light. He remembered her words, her conviction that these fruits held the power to heal, to prolong life. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain if he wanted to save Jo’Nay and hismate.

He took a bite into the apple, its sweet juice bursting on his tongue, ataste of life, of hope, of a future he’d thought was lost. And then, he swallowed the seeds, their bitter tang a reminder of the risk he was taking, the gamble he was making on a future he barely dared to dreamof.

He waited, his body tense, his senses on high alert. Nothing happened. At least not immediately.

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