It seemed as if the universe had smiled upon them. Ebisu could mean an early exit ticket. But the Nightflyers were not known for being trusting, and the timely arrival of the Starscraper was suspicious, to say the least. Isolda shouldn't appear on the radars for another six months, when Chronos was on its way out of the system. That ship, on the other hand, was unknown, and had managed to conceal its arrival. If it was in the system, it meant it came brushing the heels of Chronos. One thing was clear, Ebisu's intentions were unknown. They needed to communicate with them first and find out what brought them through Lacaille 8760. But a purpose must exist. No one travels for 15 years skirting the speed of light for nothing. Max wanted to find out, just like his crew. The problem was that, along with the sabotage of EREBUS, the communication systems were down. Besides being trapped, they were effectively isoted. —. We will split up. — Max said resolutely —. Gavin. You will go to the server as we agreed, and inform me as soon as you can fix the mess they made with EREBUS. óscar will go with you. Delih too. She has experience with closed ecosystem logistics. She will be useful when it comes time to reorganize the ship's irrigation system. Lastly, Satoshi. You will be in charge of Security. You will take a psma pistol, a Pulse Rifle, and a Reverse Field Device. If you have to face those things, remember Daimonji. — —. Shoot to the light. I understand. — Satoshi replied. —. Perfect. — Max continued —. Harding. You will stay here on the bridge. I want you to search for all the information about the sabotage. Find out who did it and why. — —. I will do what I can. Although there are files that were damaged in the bckout. Recovering them won't be easy. — commented the head of security. —. That's why Ayna will stay with you. — Max added —. She worked with data in the colony. I authorize her to dig into the ship's files and repair what is damaged. — Murat tilted his head and frowned, as if he didn't entirely agree, but Max cut him off —. Lastly, Murat, the same as Satoshi. Security. Keep an eye on everyone, and act if things get out of control. — —. I can handle that. — Murat crossed his arms, and the grimace he had for a smile became more pronounced unintentionally, as if he was about to tell an offensive joke —. What about you? — —. We will go for a spacewalk. — Max replied —. Naomi and Yakiv will come with me. With a bit of luck, we will have fixed our targeting ser. We will find out what Ebisu is looking for in Lacaille 8760, and if they can or want to help us. — With that, each group set off. There was no time to lose. Max, Naomi, and Yakiv took suits from the airlock of the axis. Those maintenance suits, white and orange, with golden visors, surprisingly light for their bulky appearance. They reviewed the non-verbal communication signals and ventured outside. Harding and his team had plenty of work ahead. After the accident, the ship's logs seemed damaged, and repairing them would take time, which they might not have. Luckily, Ayna knew what she was doing. It was good to see her acting empowered, instead of consumed by her desperate survival instincts. One conclusion could be drawn. Several logs had been deliberately erased, with the apparent consent of EREBUS. Among those, could be the cause of the sabotage. —. Interesting. — was all Harding could say. It got worse when Gavin and his team arrived at the server level. A brutalist and postmodern byrinth. Bck floor like obsidian and white ceiling. Red walls and shelves. It was dark, and it stank of a mix of pstic, silicon, and burnt fullerenes. C-Sec "Jorogumo" drones shaped like spiders y scattered across the hallways, depicting a brief but intense fight, in which they apparently killed each other for no reason. —. Could they have been used for the sabotage? — óscar asked. —. It seems so. — Gavin replied —. The fight occurred in the server lobby. I don't think they reached the core of EREBUS, so I rule out hardware damage. Whoever used the drones got what they wanted. — They soon found the culprit. The unmistakable stench of death gave him away, sweet and cloying, welcoming them as they entered, along with the buzzing of a swarm of flies hovering around. Delih covered her nose with her forearm. And then, sitting at a terminal, the Chief Boatswain Mate, Lingxing Liu. —. God. — Gavin muttered as he approached. Pale, with purple lips and eyelids, he had been dead for at least two days. Coinciding with the moment EREBUS shut down, shortly after ejecting the escape pods. Containing his nerves, Gavin turned the chair to shine the light on him, and then discovered that Liu had a cable connected to a socket at the nape of his neck. His eyes were white, blood was coming from his nose, and his knuckles were twisted, indicating brain death, perhaps at the moment he connected himself to the terminal. Everything seemed to indicate that Liu installed malicious software that EREBUS could not defend against. Trying to self-preserve, he killed Liu, vioting the First Law of Robotics. Having failed, he disconnected. Or, Gavin thought, Liu could have bckmailed him using the ws themselves to connect and install the malware. The shock killed both in the process. Clever, but something didn't quite add up, and Gavin made sure to inform Max and Harding immediately. —. I found the saboteur. — he indicated —. It was Lingxing Liu. He is dead. It seems he installed malware on EREBUS. — —. Lingxing Liu? — Max asked. His voice sounded high-pitched and full of interference from the other side —. Gavin, are you sure? — —. I have the corpse right in front of me, Max. If you want, you can come see it when you finish there. — he replied, while he ripped the console for a damage control —. But I don't bme you. I also find it hard to believe. Liu was one of the brightest guys on the whole ship. Why would he do something like this? — —. The fireflies. — Harding observed —. Could he have been under their influence? — with an unspoken order, Delih and Satoshi stepped forward to unplug and remove the corpse. They dragged it as far away as they could and covered it with a roll of aluminum. óscar silently uttered a prayer and made the gesture of a crucifix. Just as he did with Lexner, Wu, and Anatoly. Gavin shook his head and swallowed hard. The screens came to life, and cascades of data in white letters began to project in front of them. —. I don't rule it out, although I doubt it. We witnessed how the fireflies fried the heads of the entire crew. They went insane, but never anything like this. — Gavin assured —. It would change what little we know about them. And things would be getting serious. It would be good to find out if Liu had fireflies or not when he decided to attack EREBUS. — —. We will keep you informed. — the head of security indicated —. Ayna has done what she can with what we have, but we found something interesting. — —. Many logs were deleted shortly after the boarding. — Ayna indicated —. Life diaries, mission reports, as I have been able to partially recover. It was not an accident. Someone accessed the records, and we don't know who. — —. I'm sure there was information about what they did to EREBUS, and who is behind it. — Murat added. —. I might be able to ask him myself. — Gavin assured when he concluded the damages EREBUS had suffered —. It doesn't look good, but I can fix it. — —. What did they do to him? — —. Well, they almost fried the QPU. — he replied —. The malware managed to disrupt the central loop of the system. EREBUS got stuck in a computational quagmire trying to calcute decimals of Pi endlessly. An intensive and ridiculously recursive task. The QPU couldn't handle it after a few minutes, it was overheating, so an emergency shutdown was forced. — —. Okay. That doesn't sound too complicated. — Max commented. —. Indeed. The issue is that the qubits entanglement was completely destabilized. Schr?dinger's cat is dismembered inside the box, and I don't know if I can put it back together. — —. Oh. — óscar said. —. Do you think you can fix it? — Max asked. —. Yeah. — Gavin replied —. I will have to restore EREBUS to a previous state through its non-votile memory. I will repce the corrupted files with their backups, and then I will repce the damaged QPU with a new one. — he let out a long sigh and leaned back in the chair, thinking about the disaster they had ahead —. It will be like reassembling a puzzle that was tied with strings. One that has the pieces jumbled and others broken. I will untie the knots, rebuild the broken pieces, put them in their pce, and finally, tie the knots just as they were. Only then will we have EREBUS back. It may not take any longer than I said. — —. Then get to work. — Harding instructed from the other side —. We will try to do what we can from here. — —. Count on it. — As the minutes passed, more questions than answers appeared. Digging through the logs, it became clear that the saboteur tried to cover his tracks as much as possible. It happened shortly before the ejection of the escape pods. EREBUS began to behave strangely and revoked all privileges of high-ranking officers. Max. Daimonji. Harding. Cortázar. Even the captain. They could only relive the slow descent into madness of Chronos and its entire crew. The infection broke out from the cargo bay. In one of the refrigerators, where the passengers still slept. Inside, the creatures, like translucent worms, pierced the chambers and feasted. The sleepers transformed into goblins within minutes. The isotion protocols failed, and someone let them through. Who it was remained a mystery, but it seemed to be the same person. —. Damn. Shit. Motherfucker. — Harding muttered. —. Well. It's obvious that whoever is behind this had fireflies eating their head. — Murat added. —. Who had access to all the sabotaged systems? — Ayna asked. —. EREBUS. — the head of security replied —. And also Doctor Zhang. Our head of IT. — Murat bit his lips inside to prevent his grimace from appearing as a mocking and sadistic ugh. He shook his head when an idea popped into his head. —. Could she be the person we are looking for? — he asked. —. Impossible. — Harding decred —. Zhang accused Max of someone trying to alter EREBUS. Her privileges were also revoked. If she saw him acting like this, she would do everything to correct it. And before sabotaging it in any way, she would commit suicide. EREBUS is like her child. — —. Okay. And if it wasn't her, then who? — Murat countered. The only thing the head of security could think of was that he urgently needed a cigarette. He could smoke one right there, but the command bridge was sacred, even if the ship was falling apart. —. We will find out. — And so they spent the next hour going in circles. The st thing they found was a group locked in the bridge. Sawatari. Patel. Sarraf. Liu. Oriona Vásquez, Fundiswa, Janhonen, Denison, and the chief engineer, Dmitri Daimonji. They were contacting survivors from other decks. Coordinating a resistance. However, no sign of dementia, other than the fireflies that tormented them. Clues that led nowhere appeared, like EREBUS revoking the crew's privileges. The author remained a mystery. In the midst of it, Vásquez attempted suicide. Light was the only thing she could see. One day she took a shotgun and tried to blow her head off. She made the mistake of the idiotic suicidal and shattered her face. She died hours ter, bled out and in agony. When silence fell over the entire ship, and only the sounds of the beasts remained, the escape pods were ejected. One after another without anyone being able to stop it. With that, the communications. A deliberate interference. Someone bridged the circuits, and the targeting sers melted. Max was trying to fix them now. There was a gap, and then, Daimonji was organizing a suicide squad. Liu was no longer among them. It was to be expected that, by that point, EREBUS had already been sabotaged. —. The Replicators have been altered, shortly after the Escape Pod incident. It can't be anything good. — the Engineer indicated to the camera pointing at his face —. We will go to the Manufacturing Deck and try to fix it. Whatever it is, it is already causing problems. If anyone finds this, wish us luck... — and after that, the most absolute silence. The fireflies were not the only enemy. An hour ter, there was good news.—. One of the target sers is operational. — Max indicated from the ship's helmet —. It's weak, too weak for interstelr communication. Enough to greet the Ebisu and see if they respond. — a slight tremor escaped his voice, accentuated by the constant interference and distortion.—. I can sense you're agitated, Max. — Harding stepped forward, with a tone of apprehension —. Is everything alright out there? ——. Well. With those fireflies fluttering around, seeing my sister sitting on the antennas all the time. Yakiv talking about his son and Naomi with Sixta whispering to her all the time, believe me, we're doing our best. — he replied wearily —. Not to mention the ship is falling apart, and those fucking monsters were once our comrades. Naomi and I are fed up. We just want it to end once and for all. To go home, as we promised. ——. We will. All of us. — Harding assured him —. Anyway, it's about to end. We're working towards that. For now, everyone return to the airlock and come to the bridge. I'll try to talk to the people of the Ebisu, to see what they want once and for all. ——. Harding. — it was Naomi's voice —. Do you think they want to help us? That ship is not on the regur route. If it arrived now, it means it has been tailing us for fifteen years and managed to go undetected. It gives me a bad feeling. ——. Me too, Naomi. They surely have something up their sleeve. I won't know until I talk to them. For now, everyone back to the bridge. We'll think about what to do based on what we hear. —As they returned to regroup, Harding pointed the target ser at a point beyond Elsa, the rgest moon of Lohengrin. A point barely rger than a bright star, which seemed immovable in the sky, was the Ebisu. It was approaching them with apparent slowness, with the objective of an unknown mission.—. Here NSG Chronos, Star Scraper of Interstelr Transport and Cargo, Registration SCS—246908119215—2. We have detected a target ser towards our position. Please respond. — greeted the security chief. In response, the incessant hum of the machinery around him. Murat frowned, and Ayna kept her gaze down, filled with anticipation —. Here Chronos. We have detected your arrival. We know you are trying to communicate. Why don't we greet each other? — the silence was repced by an unsettling white noise.—. Here Ebisu. Chronos. We hear you loud and clear. — a female voice responded. It cked inflection, courtesy, or warmth. It came with an inflexible order —. Identify yourself. I want to speak with the captain. — Harding cleared his throat.—. I am Colonel Daniel Harding, head of Chronos Security. The security body of our ship. ——. I want to speak with the captain. — the voice insisted —. Connect me with him immediately. — the chief's eyes narrowed, and a knot tightened in his gut before he responded.—. The captain is dead. — he stated. They had seen it in the Security records. His DER was no longer responding. He was defenseless in his recovery room when the Fireflies took control. The voice's response was cold and indifferent.—. Then connect me with the Second in Command immediately. ——. Our First Officer is returning from a Spacewalk. For now, I am in charge of the bridge. You can speak with me. As long as you also identify yourself. — silence. Harding stood up from his seat and brought the communicator in his hand, looking towards the metal curtain covering the windows. He furrowed his brow, as if he were looking to the other side, as the Ebisu approached —. Are you a human being? And if not, would you allow me to speak with the captain? ——. How do you know I am not the captain? — the voice retorted immediately.—. Because it is not allowed for Star Scrapers to be commanded by an AI. You are one, aren't you? — there was no response —. Of course you are, why don't you let me speak with the captain? I would like to know what you are doing here. ——. It is not necessary to speak with the captain, Mr. Harding. — the voice interrupted —. He is listening to our conversation. You are right. I am an AI, but I prefer the term Artificial Person. My name is AKANE. ——. Nice to meet you, AKANE. — Harding greeted her with feigned courtesy —. Clear accounts keep friendships. Look, let's get straight to the point. What are you doing here? And before you make an excuse, like you are just passing through, don't try it. The Nightflyers are not fools. I know all the ships on the regur route, those ahead of us, and those behind. Tell me directly, and then we can talk. — at that moment, Harding and the others looked at each other filled with anticipation at the silence. It seemed that at any moment the communication would be cut off. But AKANE responded.—. Of course. As long as you answer some questions first. — upon hearing her, Murat twisted his expression.—. And why would that be? — Harding countered.—. To know the state of your mission. — AKANE indicated —. Apparently, Chronos presents various power failures and structural damage. If you answer me, we may be of help. — Harding tightened the communicator between his hands and sighed heavily. Drops of sweat formed on his back and temples as a chilling sensation coursed through him.—. Sounds like a deal. — Murat murmured.—. We lose nothing by trying. — Ayna added. Harding nodded.—. Alright, go ahead. ——. Is the captain the only casualty? — she asked, straightforward.—. No. — Harding replied —. There are crew members, colonists, and passengers dead. ——. And what caused the casualties? — AKANE inquired.—. An attempted boarding. — Harding indicated. AKANE fell silent, leaving the question hanging tacitly —. About 3 days ago. Six Banshee shuttles attempted to reach the Chronos. They were vioting a no-fly prohibition, so we used the CDPs. Four were destroyed. Two were not. One of them crashed against the side of the cargo bay. A hundred passengers in hypersleep died immediately, as well as the colonists on board. The aftermath of the impact also killed many crew members, including our captain. ——. Were those colonists fleeing from the Quarantine? — AKANE inquired.—. When did I mention any quarantine? — Harding retorted.—. At no point. — the AI responded —. And it wasn't necessary either. The satellites repeat that information with a pre-recorded message. A pgue that was ravaging the colony. — Ayna shuddered upon hearing this. Murat seemed about to burst out ughing. In reality, he couldn't fit a needle. Harding tried to maintain his composure —. We heard it upon arrival. It is to be expected that you did too. Tell me, knowing the scenario, wasn't it easier to turn back? You were risking a scenario like this... ——. The interstelr colonies depend on us. On the Starscrapers. As a transport ship, we have never left our mission unfinished. We fulfill ours. — Harding interrupted her —. And what do you mean by "a scenario like this"? ——. I am asking the questions, Daniel Harding. That way I can answer yours — AKANE stated —. Tell me, what did the pgue consist of? Did it have simirities with the so-called Gray Pgue? ——. It resembled nothing. — replied the security chief. He was not present when it broke out in the sor system, unlike the captain. He had only seen it in photographs, and the ruins of the aftermath that still lingered. A fractal neo-gothic nightmare. The horrendous involuntary of flesh and machine. The earthly hell —. The Gray Pgue was twisted, but random. Without purpose. This, on the other hand, is something alive. ——. Could it be said that it is alien? — AKANE questioned.—. Out of this world, definitely. ——. Expin yourself. — the AI pressed. Harding took a pause and looked at Murat and Ayna. The affliction oozed from their faces. An unspoken plea for help. AKANE's promise hung in the air. They could help if they answered her questions first. Harding continued.—. The miners of Lohengrin unearthed something. We don't know what. We are clear that from that point on, the visions began. Fireflies. Ghosts. Both in a dark forest. It happened both in the colony and aboard the Chronos, as we approached Lacaille 8760 G. — he recounted —. The pgue broke out shortly after. Something infected the colonists. At first, it seemed like a virus, but it became clear that it was something more. They began to change. ——. In what way? — AKANE continued. Harding wiped his forearm with the cold sweat from his forehead.—. They stopped being human. — he stated —. What took over their bodies took every cell and tissue. It tore them apart. It recombined and transformed them for its own purposes. Toolboxes. That is what we are to the Fireflies. Days ter, accelerated biomass growth was recorded within the colony. The same that exists aboard the Chronos, and it has not been able to be controlled. It is as if the ship were transforming into a living being. One of gigantic proportions, and the things that roam around are its cells. Apparently, we are the only crew left and we are hiding like rats. — and soon, it would no longer be enough.The growth of the Firefly Forest did not stop. Its roots would reach every deck, every compartment. They would have nowhere to go. The organism would coldly absorb them, and their cells would adhere to the alien tissue spreading throughout the ship. Living miserably, like that torso from the Crew Deck.Remembering, Harding shuddered. As head of security, he had to prevent it. A crew must sink with its ship. But they also knew when the sacrifice was not worth it. If there was a possibility of help, in the middle of the void, where goodwill is never taken for granted, it had to be taken. In the face of AKANE's new silence, Harding changed the focus.—. Alright. I have answered your questions. Enough. Now I want you to tell me what the hell you are doing here? You are not a transport ship. You came right behind. As you can see, the situation is horrible, and it is dangerous. Our Acting Captain wants to keep the remaining crew safe, and as head of security, I do too. So tell me. Can you help or not? — the inert white noise was like being adrift in the void. Harding cursed inwardly when AKANE responded.—. You are right. We are not a transport ship. Ebisu is a research ship. — the security chief frowned.—. And what are you researching? ——. Astrobiology. The “fireflies” to be accurate. — was the terse response. Harding's face contorted in frustration.—. How is that possible? — he challenged —. How did you know about the fireflies? — he raised his voice, almost shouting.—. It is all I can answer, Mr. Harding. — AKANE replied, and then they knew the conversation was coming to an end —. Thank you for your cooperation. I will contact you if we need more information. Have a good afternoon. ——. Wait, are you going to help us or not? — there was no way to know, because the link came to an end. The white noise was repced by the constant humming of the systems, and the flickering of the screens showing an error message.—. Okay, that was strange. — was the first thing Murat said, looking into nothingness.—. Strange? It was terrifying! — Ayna added —. They couldn't have known that this hell was going to happen. Communications are slow. They take years. It would take them decades to know what was happening, and if they had a way to know, it would still take them 15 years to arrive. They can't know! It's impossible! ——. Ok, that was strange. — was the first thing Murat said, looking into nothingness. —. Strange? It was terrifying! — Ayna added —. They couldn't know that this hell was going to happen. Communications are slow. They take years. It would take them decades to know what was happening, and even if they had a way to know, it would still take them 15 years to get here. They can't know! It's impossible! — —. Unless they know something we don't. — Harding pointed out, his voice trembling —. Ebisu was clear that they would find it in Lacaille 8760. They are coming to investigate the Fireflies. It's their objective. I still don't understand why or how. Something is slipping away from us. — He looked at the group. Ayna seemed to have a tear in her throat, and Murat was about to tell a morbid joke and was holding back ughter. Harding cpped his hands with determination —. They won't help us. — —. So? — Murat questioned him. —. We stick to Pn A. — he replied —. I will ask Gavin how EREBUS is doing. — *** It took two and a half hours to repair EREBUS. A virtual surgery that Gavin hoped would bear fruit. At that moment, they entrusted themselves to God in the heights. The EBISU option was never on the table. The pn they had was the only one. Satoshi just wanted to get out of there. For a while now, he had seen his dad among the fireflies, gesturing for him to come with him. Delih thought she saw her brother. The st time she saw him was when he came out of hypersleep, subsumed by the alien pgue in a Siamese aberration with three other passengers, throwing its tentacles at her. Oscar cimed to see runes in the server's nomenctures. When he turned to look, they disappeared. A voice inside his head told him they were instructions. Gavin saw them too. He confused them with the lines of code he was entering. With that, he felt Anna Jensen's presence right behind him, watching closely how he tried to bring EREBUS back to life. He never dared to turn around. Gavin knew Anna had been dead for three trips. —. The time of truth has come. — he warned then. The room seemed to hold its breath as the boot-up began. Their collective hopes and fears became tangible in the stretching seconds. In silence, the lights flickered, distorting the shadows around them. And then, a bck rhombus appeared in the middle of the room. Dark, like its name, the god of darkness more than the initials Zhang had given it. —. EREBUS online. — said a male voice, with a calmness that seemed foreign to the tension of the moment. Its avatar wasn't even human. It looked more like a singurity in the shape of a prism. A halo of bright pixels surrounded it, simir to the accretion disk of a bck hole. Gavin swallowed hard and cleared his throat before speaking. —. I'm gd to have you back, EREBUS. — Harding said to him. —. How are you? — Gavin greeted him. —. A bit dazed. — he replied, calm and devoid of emotion —. Like I had a hangover and had been beaten up. Other than that, I'm fine. There's health, at least. — The group couldn't help but smile. Gavin nodded to himself. His personality remained unchanged, just like his attempts at humor. —. EREBUS, we want to talk to you about something more serious. — he stepped forward. —. Of course, Gavin. I'm here to help. What is it about? — —. Do you know who tried to sabotage you? — asked the head of security. —. Lingxing Liu, chief boatswain mate, under the orders of the chief engineer and acting XO Dmitri Daimonji. — he answered coldly. —. Why? — he immediately questioned. —. I represented a threat to their objectives. They considered my influence over the ship's systems to be too much. — —. And why did you eject the escape pods? — Harding inquired. —. I was trying to put the ship in quarantine. — he stated ftly. Gavin pondered this in silence. So far, he had acted according to standard protocol. —. So, you know about the Pgue? Right? The Pgue of the Fireflies. — Gavin interrogated. —. That's right. — —. Excellent. We need your help, EREBUS. — he continued —. We must eliminate the fireflies. With all of them on board the ship. Only then can we return home safely. Can you do it? — a prolonged pause, and then a response that sent chills down his spine. —. I'm sorry, Gavin. I'm afraid I can't. — Gavin's eyes narrowed in confusion —. The fireflies are part of the crew. —