The Genesis's main lounge felt impossibly luxurious after the cramped confines of Eden-Five's orbital station. High vaulted ceilings stretched overhead in classical cathedral architectural lines, while elegant lighting panels provided warm illumination that felt more like a high-end church than a research vessel. The three newest members of their group. Drew, Simran, and Carlos sat clustered together on what were unmistakably expensive furniture pieces, the kind of adaptive seating that cost more than most people's annual salaries.
Tanya found herself sinking into a chair that probably represented the total of her university tuition, trying to process the fact that she was fleeing for her life.
It took her nearly a full minute to relax enough to speak, and when she did, Drew beat her to it.
"What in hell was that?" he demanded, his earlier shock having transformed into anger and confusion. "What is this ship? Who are you people, really? Because I'm pretty sure normal engineering consultants don't escape in large megavessels when the military shows up."
Tanya opened her mouth to respond, but found herself looking past him to Amara instead. "What happened? What's going on?"
Amara's expression was grim as she consulted her tablet, scrolling through encrypted messages with increasing concern. "I'm still trying to process all the information, but Davidson sent a warning. They were coming for you, but something doesn't add up. The timing is all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Either his message arrived much later than he intended, or they moved faster than anyone expected." Amara frowned at her screen. "He included a data packet, but... this needs to be discussed privately."
Drew's face flushed red. "Privately? Are you kidding me? We just ran from an Imperial fleet in some kind of freaky spaceship, and you want to have secret conversations?"
He started to rise from his seat, but Cameron smoothly interposed himself between Drew and Tanya. Janet flanked him on the other side, while Red positioned himself with the casual competence of someone accustomed to defusing volatile situations.
"Easy," Cameron said quietly. "Everyone's stressed. Let's not make this harder than it needs to be."
Simran and Carlos exchanged glances, then Simran spoke up. "Drew's right, though. We deserve to know what we've gotten ourselves into. I mean, we're fugitives now, apparently. That seems like something we should have been told before today."
Carlos nodded emphatically. "I've got family back home. If I'm never going home because I worked on the wrong engineering project, I need to understand why."
Tanya felt the intensity of their stares, the justified anger of people who'd been kept in the dark about dangers that affected their lives. "You're right. All of you. You deserve to know everything."
She gestured to the luxurious seating around them. "We might as well stay here. This is going to take a while, and honestly, these chairs are probably more comfortable than anything we'll find elsewhere on the ship."
The others settled back into the expensive furniture, though Drew, Simran, and Carlos still looked around with expressions ranging from fascination to barely controlled panic.
"Right," Tanya said, adjusting herself in the adaptive seating. "First things first. My name is Tanya Furrow, and I'm bonded to an ancient artificial intelligence called Sage. They've been my partner and teacher for the past two years."
She lifted her arm with the multi-tool, placing it on the table's surface. The device came to life, projecting a holographic ball of light.
[Greetings,] Sage's voice emerged from the multi-tool's speakers, flat and mechanical compared to their usual telepathic communication. [I am the entity you know as Sage. I am responsible for Tanya's education when it comes to spaceships and dimensional engineering.]
Drew stared at the multi-tool like it might bite him. "The AI is talking through your... multitool?"
"Yes," Tanya replied. "Sage is what's called a Gardener. A member of an extremely advanced and ancient civilisation that bonds with a host and gives them knowledge to guide them. They're the reason I can build ships that seem impossible by conventional engineering standards."
[More specifically,] Sage continued, [I have taught Tanya to manipulate quantum states and understand dimensional physics. Her ability to enhance materials during construction, to create impossibly strong hull composites, and to develop dimensional navigation systems. These capabilities stem from our partnership.]
"Wait," Simran said, leaning forward. "You're talking about the quantum enhancement effect? The way some of your ship components seemed to respond to your intentions during fabrication?"
"Exactly. I can sense and manipulate quantum states at a molecular level. It's how I created the the hull for the Avdrulla Stela. I still don't understand the theoretical framework." She stated calmly.
Carlos was taking notes on his tablet, his scientist's instincts overriding his shock. "And you're saying this AI—Sage—has been teaching you these abilities? That's not just advanced engineering, that's... that's manipulating reality itself."
"In a limited way, yes." Tanya let the shimmer fade. "The rescue ship you all worked on represents conventional engineering approaches because I couldn't apply these techniques to collaborative projects. The quantum enhancement only works when I'm directly involved in every aspect of the construction."
[The bonding process creates what might be termed 'dimensional awareness,'] Sage explained. [Tanya can perceive and influence quantum states. This allows for material enhancement, improved structural integrity.]
Drew was staring at Tanya's hands as if expecting them to start glowing. "So when you were working on our projects, you were... holding back? Using conventional methods when you could have been doing more?"
"That project is for the mass market. It makes no sense to add something only I could do," Tanya said carefully. "Methods that could be replicated, understood, and maintained by normal human engineers."
[The collaborative approach necessarily limited the application of advanced principles,] Sage added.
Drew looked around the room with growing comprehension. "So we've been working for someone who has access to alien technology, and you didn't think that was relevant information?"
"I thought," Tanya said carefully, "That we had more time to build trust. Obviously, that plan didn't work out."
[The current situation suggests that secrecy is no longer a viable protective strategy,] Sage observed.
"What situation, exactly?" Simran asked. "Why were Imperial forces coming for us? What did we do?"
Tanya glanced at Amara, who'd been unusually quiet during the technical explanations. "That's... more complicated. Amara?"
"We should probably discuss the intelligence briefing privately first," Amara said diplomatically. "Some of the information is... sensitive."
"No." Drew's voice carried surprising firmness. We're all in this together now, whether we wanted to be or not. Whatever's happening, we deserve to know."
"I understand how you feel, Drew," Tanya said, her voice carefully controlled. "But I trust Amara's judgment. If she says this information needs to be discussed privately first, then that's what we're going to do."
Drew's face flushed red. "I said no!" His voice carried surprising firmness mixed with rising anger. "You will tell us what's going on. After everything you have done, we deserve to know."
Tanya's expression went completely cold, her voice dropping to a tone that could have frozen atmospheric moisture. "Let me make something very clear, Drew. You've been part of this team for six months. Amara has been keeping me alive and making sound strategic decisions for over two years. She's earned the right to determine what information gets shared when and how. You haven't."
She leaned forward slightly, and Drew instinctively shrank back. "You want to know your place in this situation? You're a passenger. A refugee I chose to save instead of leaving behind to face Imperial interrogation. So when someone with actual authority and experience tells you that sensitive intelligence needs careful handling, you sit down, shut up, and show some gratitude for not being in an Imperial detention cell right now."
The lounge fell into tense silence. Drew looked like he'd been slapped, his anger deflating into shocked hurt.
Janet cleared her throat diplomatically. "Maybe we should all take a step back. Everyone lost something today—homes, careers, families we can't contact. We're all processing this differently, but taking it out on each other isn't going to help anyone."
Tanya's cold expression softened slightly, though her posture remained rigid. "Janet's right. This is hard for everyone."
She looked around the room at faces that ranged from determined to desperate to simply exhausted. These people had thrown their lives away to follow her into the unknown, but that didn't mean they were ready for every truth all at once.
"All right," she said finally. "I think it's time we had a break."
Drew remained notably quiet, shooting occasional resentful glances in Tanya's direction as he left the room.
As the others dispersed to explore their new accommodations, Tanya caught Amara, Janet, and Cameron before they could leave.
"There's something else I need to show you three," she said quietly. "Something the others aren't ready for yet."
The workshop materialised around them with the dimensional space unfolding to reveal the familiar fabrication equipment and design stations. But it was Mera's corner that drew immediate attention, the translucent organism pulsing with gentle bioluminescence as she observed the newcomers.
"Oh my god," Janet whispered, moving closer to the containment field. "She's beautiful. Look at those patterns—it's like living art."
Cameron was already pulling up scanner readings on his tablet, his face bright with scientific curiosity. "What are these reading? How did it survive? Where did you find it?" he bombarded her with questions, and she put her hand up to stop him.
Amara, by contrast, stood frozen near the entrance. "That's an alien. An actual alien life form. Tanya, why is there an alien living in your workshop?"
"Her name is Mera," Tanya said gently. "She's been here for months. Completely harmless, probably sapient, definitely helpful. Good listener too"
[Mera's species demonstrates remarkable sensitivity to dimensional fluctuations,] Sage added through the workshop's speakers. [Her distress responses have provided early warning of several potential threats.]
Tanya would have to question Sage later why he had decided to become talkative. It was like a switch had flipped.
Janet reached out toward the containment field, stopping just short of touching it. "Can she communicate? I mean, really communicate, not just responses to stimuli?"
"We're still working on that," Tanya admitted. "But I'm convinced she understands more than we give her credit for."
Cameron was deep in his scanner readings, muttering about cellular matrices and bioluminescent neural networks. Amara continued to stare at Mera with the expression of someone whose worldview was undergoing rapid reconstruction.
"How many more surprises are there?" Amara asked finally. "Because I'm starting to think my risk assessment models need serious updating."
"That depends on what you found in Davidson's data packet," Tanya replied grimly. "I have a feeling the news isn't good."
She gestured to the meeting area of the workshop, where comfortable seating had been arranged around a holographic display table. As they settled in, Tanya leaned forward expectantly.
"Right," Amara said, her business demeanor returning as she focused on familiar tasks. "Here's what we know from Red's military contacts and Davidson's intelligence package. And Tanya... this is why I wanted to discuss it privately first."
Amara activated the holographic display, bringing up encrypted files that made Tanya's stomach drop even before she could read them.
"Tell me," Tanya said quietly. "How bad is it?"
The holographic display activated, showing star charts marked with fleet movements and tactical assessments. But it was the identity profile that made Tanya's breath catch.
The face that appeared was unmistakably the grandmother from the trade show—elderly, kind, with eyes that had seemed so warm and understanding. But the data scrolling beside her image told a very different story.
"Lady Flowers," Amara said grimly. "Real name unknown. Genetically modified human, estimated age two hundred years. Former military commander turned religious leader. And according to this intelligence, she's the Prime Matron of something called the Holy Order."
Janet whistled softly. "The sweet old lady who extracted our beacon technology?"
"Was the leader of a military organisation that just reclaimed their ancient homeworld using dimensional navigation capabilities," Amara continued. "The battle destroyed multiple fleets from three major powers. Thousands of casualties."
Cameron looked up from his continued scanning of Mera. "And she got the navigation technology from us. From our beacon demonstration."
"That's what the intelligence suggests, yes." Amara manipulated the display to show after-action reports from the battle. "The Holy Order ships demonstrated navigation capabilities that match the principles behind our beacon network. Enhanced dimensional awareness, real-time position updating, ability to coordinate fleet movements through vortex space..."
Tanya felt like the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. "She used our technology to kill thousands of people."
"It gets worse," Amara said quietly. "The Imperial government knows about the technology transfer. That's why they were coming for you. Either you work for them developing military applications to counter the Holy Order, or you face charges for providing aid to enemy forces."
The workshop fell silent except for the gentle humming of fabrication equipment and Mera's soft bioluminescent pulses. Tanya stared at the tactical reports, at casualty figures that represented real people who'd died because she'd been proud of her beacon technology and wanted to show it off.
"How many?" she asked quietly.
"Preliminary estimates suggest ninety thousand military casualties across all three fleets," Amara replied.
Dead because she'd wanted recognition for her clever engineering. Dead because she'd let a kind old lady manipulate her into revealing the key insights that made dimensional navigation possible.
"I need some time," Tanya said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I need to think."
The others exchanged glances, but Janet was the one who spoke. "Tanya, you couldn't have known—"
"I could have been more careful. I should have listened to Red's warnings about operational security. I should have..." She trailed off, staring at reports that detailed the destruction of ships that had carried crews just like the people she'd worked with, people with families and dreams and futures that were now gone forever.
"We'll reconvene tomorrow," she said finally. "Right now, I need to figure out how to live with what I've done."
As the others quietly left the workshop, Tanya remained alone with Mera and the burden of consequences she'd never intended but couldn't escape.