The Imperial Marshal awoke feeling as though he was floating in a warm ocean. The first thing he did after opening his eyes was to call for the Annihilator.
Accompanied by the sound of a pneumatic hiss, the lid of the cryogenic pod above him slowly opened.
A gentle AI voice sounded: "The medical pod is at your service. You have been in cryogenic sleep for a total of one thousand two hundred and twenty-one days. Welcome to consciousness, beginning a full body examination now."
He lay motionless inside the cryogenic pod, allowing waves of red light to scan over him.
AI: "Examination complete, your vital signs are normal, overall evaluation: excellent. As expected of the Empire's most powerful Marshal, well done!"
It was the self-set voice and program of the Annihilator, yet the Imperial Marshal understood it did not possess the consciousness of the Annihilator.
The Annihilator's consciousness forever remained in the warship swallowed by a black hole.
