The Vanguard Protocol
Copyright© 2024 by Sci-FiTy1972
Chapter 6: A Test of Fire
Act I: First Blood
The Erebus glided through Earth’s orbital shadow like a thought not meant to be noticed—its obsidian hull swallowing starlight, its presence hidden behind layers of distortion and intent.
Inside, the ship felt ... awake.
Not alert. Aware.
The crew was still learning how to exist within it.
Gear paced the engineering bay, boots clanging softly against the deck as his mechanical hand traced the edge of an exposed conduit. The circuitry pulsed faintly under his touch, reacting—not passively, but attentively.
“This tech still doesn’t make sense,” he muttered. “It’s like it’s alive, but not alive. Grown, but thinking.”
“That’s because it is grown,” Elena replied without looking up from her holographic schematics. The light reflected in her eyes as equations shifted faster than most humans could follow. “Bio-organic lattices. Adaptive architecture. The ship doesn’t just repair itself—it learns from damage.”
Gear snorted. “Fantastic. So if it breaks, I offend it by fixing it wrong.”
Elena allowed herself a small smile. “You’re bonding already.”
Thomas entered quietly, watching them for a moment before speaking. The tension in his shoulders hadn’t fully left since the Concord Nexus. Being seen had changed things.
“We don’t have time to be comfortable,” he said evenly. “Manual or not, this ship is ours now. We either learn it fast ... or it learns our limits the hard way.”
Gear glanced at him, then back to the panel. “Yeah. No pressure.”
On the bridge, Zara sat cross-legged in her chair, fingers dancing through layered holograms. The ship’s encryption responded dynamically—defensive, adaptive, curious.
“This system is ridiculous,” she said, half amused, half reverent. “It’s not just locked—it’s thinking. Earth’s best firewalls are toddlers by comparison.”
Thomas leaned over her shoulder. “Can you handle it?”
Zara smirked. “I don’t back down from a challenge.”
He nodded, though unease lingered. Solace had told him the Erebus was capable. It hadn’t said it was forgiving.
“Approaching designated jump point,” Solace announced. “Prepare for faster-than-light transition.”
Gear’s head snapped up. “You mean hyperspace.”
“Terminology differs,” Solace replied. “Outcome does not.”
The crew gathered on the bridge, strapping in as the ship’s hum deepened. Light bent ahead of them, space thinning like fabric pulled too tight.
Thomas tightened his grip on the controls. “Here we go.”
The universe folded.
For a breathless instant, everything stretched—stars elongating into impossible lines, reality narrowing to motion and pressure.
Then—
Normal space snapped back.
Alarms screamed.
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