“Void, no.”
Ali cocked her head. “Well then, you should probably go say your goodbyes to the scientists. The preparations to leave are completed.”
That was . . . surprisingly fast. And yet, somehow, not surprising. Aiden nodded and strode back towards the cargo bay, speaking over his shoulder. “Just out of curiosity, would HAE have been willing to give Barix an adult companion?”
She chuckled. “It might be worth it, to increase this ship's chances of survival. But we're not going to win this war by giving away resources, even to potential allies.”
He shook his head. “Too bad. I would've liked a chance to refuse him one out of spite.” She actually laughed outright at that, which he had to admit was nice.
Speaking of his crew, they seemed to have vanished. Into the station, as it turned out, joining the scientists as their colleagues were revived from stasis. Aiden let Ali lead him through the airlock, into the receiving area where the work was being done.
At his first sight of it, he couldn't help but slow down to gawk.
The interior of the station was pristine, boasting some of the highest tech he'd ever seen. Almost bordering on opulent, although there wasn't a sense of . . . excess like he'd seen in some of the richer places he'd visited.
Merely AI meeting the needs and all reasonable wants of the humans in their care with perfect efficiency.
Dozens of people had gathered to meet the returned scientists, apparently friends and family given the warmth of the response. Beyond the hugs and kisses he saw tears in many eyes. There were even parents reunited with children.
However he might feel about Ali turning Caretaker and advocating for robots who wanted to take over humanity, he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at the sight; guess he was still able to do some good in the universe.
His crew were standing off to one side watching the reunions, apparently having already said their goodbyes. Aside from Barix, who seemed to have vanished. Aiden went over to join them, receiving a warm smile from Lana as they watched loved ones who likely thought they'd never see each other again cry and hold each other tight.
Aiden cleared his throat, and not just to get his people's attention. “Enough gawking,” he said, forcing gruffness into his voice. “We're ready to go, so let's go.”
“You sure we can't stick around a bit, enjoy the luxurious accommodations and our every whim catered to by beautiful robots?” Belix asked, light tone covering real wistfulness. He simply stared at her sternly in response, and she scowled. “Fine, Captain Killjoy. Who wants to enjoy a few days away from the universe that's trying to kill us, anyway?”
She turned and flounced away, Lana and the gunner following. Even Ali didn't linger, offering a flurry of handshakes among the scientists and a brief but heartfelt hug for Terra. Then she also headed back into the ship, leaving him alone amidst a sea of HAE personnel and families for his own goodbyes.
The twenty-six men and women were almost terse in their farewells. In fact, now that Aiden had been paid for his services, the scientists' gratitude seemed to have mostly faded to professional acknowledgment. Like the Last Stand was some sort of passenger service ferrying them to their new lives.
The notable exceptions were Linus, who at least had the courtesy to shake his hand and express regret they couldn't stay longer, and of course Terra.
In fact, the willowy woman lingered as the other scientists drifted back to their families, offering Aiden her hand with a solemn expression. “It's been a pleasure, Captain. People like you are becoming rare in this universe, to its detriment.”
Aiden wasn't sure about that. He took her hand, not without a bit of wistfulness considering what could've been. “And you, Miss Sarr. I hope I was able to provide some useful information about my experiences with an adult companion for your work.” He decided it would probably be counterproductive to bring up how she'd stolen his lover and replaced her with an HAE murder bot.
To his surprise, Terra kept her hold on his hand, nibbling her bottom lip. “It made a good pretext to learn more about you.” She finally let go, looking regretful. “A shame we'll probably never see each other again. I would've liked to get to know you better.”
He blinked as she turned and rejoined her colleagues. Had she been expressing interest in him? Even given his own tentative thoughts in that direction, with her distracted and studious demeanor he somehow hadn't thought the woman indulged in such human emotions.
He turned away, then jumped when he saw Barix leaning against the bulkhead a short distance from the airlock back to the ship, smirking at him. He couldn't help but notice that the man was looking flushed and incredibly pleased with himself.
“Guess you managed to get lucky after all, eh?” Aiden said as he strode past him through the airlock, unable to keep the contempt from his voice.
“Which is more than you can say with glasses lady,” the Ishivi mocked as he followed him into the cargo bay. “Breaking hearts all across the universe? Or just hearing what you want to hear? She was aboard this ship for over a week, and only now as she's leaving gives any hint of interest?”
“At least I don't send real women running at first hint of romantic intent,” he shot back. Then he did his best not to wince; considering he'd spent more than a year in a relationship with an adult companion, he'd just set himself up for a scathing comeback.
And he got one, although it came in the form
