Page 14 of Silvyr: Glitched for Her
As we circled back to the command center, The Reality pinged me with a backlog of alerts.I moved to the central console, expecting routine system failures, power fluctuations, the normal degradation that came with abandonment.Instead, I found forty-seven unread high-priority messages, dating back months.Apparently, the time difference between my lightspeed travel and time passing here was vastly different.
My fingers hesitated over the console.The Reality sensed my trepidation and brought the first message online without command.A holographic display flickered to life, static-laced but recognizable.
Tanya leaned over my shoulder as Vylit's face materialized before us, his bioluminescent patterns flaring with urgency.His message was brief, encoded in the battle-language we'd developed centuries ago.
"Silvyr.Alert.Pattern match detected.Asset P signature confirmed."
The next message activated automatically, this one from Kazmyr, his scarred face etched with concern."Second confirmation.Asset active again.Coordinates unstable.Respond."
Message after message played, each more frantic than the last.Distress warnings.Inquiry scans.Battle alerts.Coordinates.Code sequences.Names I didn't recognize.
The forty-sixth message showed both Vylit and Kazmyr together, their images distorted by interference.
"Silvyr, if you're receiving this—Asset P is moving.We need you.Now."Vylit's luminescence had dimmed to emergency patterns, his voice rough with strain.
Kazmyr leaned forward, the ember marks on his skin pulsing dangerously."Asset P is unhinged.All protocols are at risk."
My systems froze, processing implications.Asset P, the entity that had infiltrated and corrupted the IDA.The entity which had threated all three of our mates and so many others.
Tanya placed a steadying hand on my back as the final message auto-played.A hologram of Vylit alone with his features drawn with exhaustion.
"If you're alive, answer.Your mate is in danger.But we have a plan."
The message ended, leaving only static.Tanya's expression hardened, the vulnerability of our earlier moments replaced by fierce determination."So we stop it.We have your ship, my hacking skills, a dangerous glowing coal alien, and a giant glowing alien warrior who's apparently on our side.What else do we need?"
My glow flared in a sharp, protective surge.Not just for my allies, not just for the unnamed mates in danger, but for her—this human who'd stumbled into my dying existence and somehow restarted it.The Reality hummed in response, weapons systems coming online without command, navigation plotting possible intercept courses based on fragmentary data.
Tanya's fingers found mine, squeezing with human warmth that my sensors registered as essential.And for the first time since rebooting in that scrapyard, I felt not like the last failure of a dead species, but like something new… someone with a purpose.
Pixel drifted upward, hovering between us before projecting a single fire emoji into the space.Tanya grinned, her earlier awe replaced by the sharp, predatory expression I was learning meant trouble for her enemies.
"Looks like we've got a date with destiny," she said, squeezing my hand again.
The mission was waiting.And this time, I wasn't alone.
CHAPTER7
TANYA
The ship's orbit-thrust hummed beneath my feet, a gentle vibration that should have been soothing but instead grated against my already frayed nerves.I sprawled in the co-pilot's seat, one leg draped over the armrest in practiced nonchalance while I pretended not to notice Silvyr pacing the narrow bridge.His silver form flickered with anxiety, code patterns racing up and down his arms as he made another loop.Seven steps, turn, seven steps back.The pattern was driving me fucking insane, but I bit my tongue.After nearly losing him to that system crash, I'd take his annoying pacing over the terrifying stillness of his damaged body any day.
"You're going to wear a groove in the deck plating," I finally said, unable to resist."And your left knee servo is grinding.I can hear it from here."
He paused mid-step, his silver eyes fixing on me with that intense focus that always made my stomach do a little flip."My diagnostic systems are preoccupied with urgent calculations."
"You mean you're worried."
"Concern is an inefficient emotional process."
I snorted."Yeah, welcome to humanity, where inefficient emotional processes are our specialty."
Before he could counter with some emotionally-stunted comeback, the comm panel flared to life with an incoming transmission.Pixel zipped from its resting spot on my shoulder to hover over the controls, spinning excitedly as it projected a phone emoji into the air.
"Incoming transmission from the Mavtrosian vessel," Silvyr announced, as if I couldn't see the glowing display myself.He was still getting used to not having to explain everything.
I leaned forward, tapping the accept key."Let's see what glowy and lava-face want."
The holoscreen crackled to life, and I found myself staring at the translucent features of Vylit, his bioluminescent skin pulsing with what I was learning to read as urgency.Beside him stood Kazmyr, the massive Vortharian warrior whose obsidian skin cracked with lines of molten heat.They looked like a walking special effects demo and a volcanic nightmare had decided to form a boy band.
