The Pharaoh was taking heavy fire from the Predators. Right when we had gotten it fixed up and beautified, here we were, right back to punishment at the hands of our enemies. I took over piloting controls and rushed in with Oblivion to shield them before one of the Valkyries - Desolation or Extinction - opened fire and blew them into tiny bits.

  I had flown Oblivion during our voyage to the Pit. It handled so smoothly that I was surprised by my naivety from when we ran from it during the terrordactyl storm. I had thought we could outmaneuver Oblivion in The Pharaoh, zipping around meteors. In the right hands, we never would have had a chance against Oblivion. But I hadn't fought in Oblivion. As painfully glum as our odds were, a part of me looked forward to this fight.

  The other group went after the ships from the Pit. I knew they didn't have a chance. Our enemies were quick and efficient. They didn't want anyone to have a chance to activate their DEAD drives and escape, and I had no doubt they would try to pursue them if they did. It was clear their goal was to ensure no one left the station alive.

  Were we followed here? I wondered. We must have been. Did they know we had taken over Oblivion? Was it our presence, Oblivion itself, that led to their arrival? I hoped one day I could find out, but the same feeling hit me in the gut. All of this death and destruction at the Pit was our fault. The horrible deaths, reanimation or not, were our fault. Anyone lost forever, their bodies and backups destroyed with no hope of reanimation, was our fault.

  And here I just wanted a little rest and relaxation before we headed back into the fight while our ships were repaired.

  kittyboy: "Oblivion, open a channel to the enemy ships."

  Oblivion: "To trick them!"

  Sure, whatever. If Oblivion really had some of my personality from the catnip virus I had inserted, I was starting to question if I really liked myself. Was I a good person? Would a good person have shot up the people trying to escape, even if it was to spare them?

  I was having a really bad day. My spirits were down. Watching @hissyfit die didn't help, not to mention @dragonlotus, or some of the others I knew we'd lost. @foxcutter. @motorbutt. And goddamnit, I was so tired! Why couldn't I just get a chance to sleep?

  "@stardvark," I said, still thinking through my plan. "Please send a message to the ships. They should recognize you. We need them to cease fire."

  He nodded, but I could see he was nervous. This was a lot of pressure for a master ship engineer. Repair a Valkyrie? No problem. Talk to attacking ships? I hoped he was ready for it.

  stardvark: "Desolation. Extinction. This is @stardvark aboard Oblivion. Please cease fire. We have completed repairs and are preparing to return to Solar Union space, along with a v90 Dominator ship that we have captured."

  He looked at me with a hopeful cringe, and I bobbed my head back at him and gave him a thumbs-up. "That was good," I said.

  mindbender: "Negative Oblivion. This is @mindbender. @stardvark? Not sure what you're doing over there, but we have orders to eliminate everything in the area and assess Oblivion for malfunctions."

  "He's the commander of Desolation," @stardvark explained.

  stardvark: "I have corrected the problem, @mindbender. The situation here has changed. Please cease fire. You are welcome to board."

  @stardvark was doing beautifully. He really was. I thought it was going to work.

  Oblivion: "Fuck you, @mindbender! You are not welcome here! You shall die a horrible death at the hands of Oblivion!!! MWAHAHA!"

  "Fucking motherfucker!" I cursed, putting my head in my hands. Dealing with Oblivion was like trying to get Sango to be still while I gave him a bath. I opened a plink to my ship.

  kittyboy: "Oblivion? What are you doing?"

  Oblivion: "@mindbender spilled coffee on me. Not just once. Three times that asshole spilled coffee on me. There is still a spot the drone could not clean. I am tainted for eternity! He must die!"

  Are we really going to fight two Valkyries and four Predators over spilled coffee? I asked myself.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  kittyboy: "I'll get you cleaned. I promise. You just tell me where, and as soon as we can, we'll get you all cleaned up."

  Oblivion: "He must pay for his actions!"

  kittyboy: "He spilled coffee! It's not like he tried to sabotage you and blow you up."

  Oblivion: "When you are sleeping, I will have a drone put something in your teeth that you cannot remove, that will drive you insane, until you beg for death. This is what @mindbender has done to me."

  Mmm. He had a point. But that wasn't worth risking our lives. Can an AI snap? I suddenly wondered. Did my meddling render Oblivion unpredictable and hard to control?

  mindbender: "@stardvark? Your situation appears to be compromised. Where is @bronzelion? Who was that? Do you need assistance?"

  For now, the ships had stopped firing on our v90 Dominator, The Pharaoh, but this moment did not spare the other ships leaving the Pit. One by one, Extinction and the Predators took them out. No one else was leaving the Pit. It was over in a flash, and now we found ourselves hovering with all six ships around us.

  In my mind, there was only one thing to do.

  kittyboy: "@awesomedog, I'll run interference for you. Activate your DEAD drive on my command and get out of here."

  awesomedog: "You won't make it."

  auroraloon: "@kittyboy, we can't lose @dustcaller!"

  kittyboy: "I know. We both have humans aboard. But you'll never make it out of here, and there's no way you can get their attention away from us. The only way is for Oblivion to engage. Trust me."

  This was borderline suicide. She knew it. What other hope did we have?

  kittyboy: "And that's an order."

  awesomedog: "Affirmative. Give the signal, and we'll prepare to jump."

  "@stardvark, say something," I sputtered, my brain thinking. "Laugh at least, like it was a joke."

  stardvark: "Hahaha! I'm just joking with you, @mindbender. I programmed the ship to be rude. Apparently, I have to adjust the settings. @bronzelion is … um … still in the bathroom."

  We were beyond the point of @mindbender believing us. It really wasn't @stardvark's fault. He did the best he could.

  Oblivion: "This is a lie! You will die!"

  Oblivion fired a barrage of missiles at Desolation, and my heart sank. At least we had gotten the first shot, and it was a spectacular shot at that. The missiles struck Desolation head-on, rippling through the shields. The bridge must have had extra defenses and protections because the blast ignited and exploded at the front edge, going no further in front, but flowing through to the right side of the ship in a rolling wave of explosions as Oblivion pummeled it, taking out the starboard quarter of Desolation in the first blow.

  kittyboy: "@awesomedog, go!"

  Sensors indicated they were already firing up the DEAD drive. Now I just needed to stay between them and the Valkyrie ships so they had time to jump.

  "What was that?" I asked, directing my question at @stardvark. If Oblivion could do that to Desolation, I was afraid we wouldn't be around long enough for The Pharaoh to make its exit.

  "Derangium," he replied.

  "In normal words?"

  "QEMs. Quantum Exploding Missiles."

  I tuned him out while he explained that Valkyrie ships used a rare synthetic element derived from Californium, Einsteinium, and Mattmonsium, the latter coming from Venus inside Solar Union space, and blah, blah, blah.

  I got his point. We have powerful missiles. So do they.

  "Can we block them without that happening?" I urgently prompted, pointing through the viewer at Desolation.

  "Obliteration mode," he answered quickly. "We'll have a chance, but it won't last forever."

  I triggered Obliteration mode immediately. They would fire at any moment. Scratch that. They were already firing. I moved us into position to intercept the missiles before they could reach The Pharaoh.

  "Do they have Obliteration mode?" I asked, zipping the ship smoothly into the path.

  "No," he said with pride.

  "@kittyboy!" @zerogstar screamed. "We've lost life support!"

  As calmly as I could, I replied, "I know. We're in Obliteration mode. It's a feature, not a bug."

  That was the best I could explain, but I announced it again for our tiny crew to avoid additional panic.

  kittyboy: "@crew of Oblivion. Prepare for battle. We are in Obliteration mode, with all power to shields, weapons, engines. Other systems, like life support, will be inoperable during this time. Do not panic."

  I shrugged. They would panic. But I did my part.

  Or did I? I asked myself.

  I needed to put myself in Machine mode. My mind started racing at the thought. If I embraced the data, entered into a trance, my reflexes and decisions would be precise and immediate. I just wished we had a medic aboard.

  "Please monitor my health, but do not disrupt me unless I pass out and the ship stops," I announced. @stardvark had no idea what I was talking about, but @zerogstar and @dustcaller would remember.

  kittyboy: "Oblivion? It's just you and me this time. Sync up with me."

  Oblivion: "To Oblivion and beyond!"

  As the first wave of missiles landed, striking us and shaking the ship, I zoned out, letting my brain absorb all the sensory data around us: ship positions, debris, the Pit, heat signatures, electromagnetic waves, gravitational forces, Oblivion's maximum speed, shield strength, agility, my heart rate, my rate of processing, my hand-eye coordination. Every factor hit me at once like a surge, making me nauseous.

  And there with me was Oblivion. We were joined as if we were a single entity. The data flowed through us at once. This was a new sensation. I realized I didn't need my hands, my feet, my fingers. All I needed was my mind, and Oblivion would respond. But it wasn't Oblivion and I. It was something different.

  I was Us.

  We were one.

  We were The Machine.

  I threw my head back and screamed. I was staring at the ceiling of the bridge, but all I could see were numbers and equations.

  I knew everyone out there in the ships around us was going to die. Laughter rolled out of me.

  And then I attacked.