And suddenly Grey remembered. The facility he found in the intrepid nest. How it spoke to him. How it shrank down to the red sphere. He'd crammed it into his pocket as he ran.
Once he woke up in the hospital he hadn't thought of it once. It had been easily overshadowed by the fact he had implants forced on him. But now, he wondered.
"What the hell happened to that thing?"
[Answer; I am with you, Pilot.]
That voice spoke in his head again, and what Grey mistook for simply a quirk of the system turned out to be something else.
The pieces of the puzzle shifted ever closer to being solved. An idea took hold in his mind, but he needed to be sure.
"By with me…do you mean..?" He began, tentatively.
[I am p-part of you now. Pilot received significant damage during egress. Vessel was forced to initiate an emergency merge to prevent pilot's death.]
That same sickening feeling began to rise in his stomach once more. The feeling of losing control of things around. The anxiety of what would come next in a long line of events he can't control or predict.
He sunk into his bed as his mind turned into a whirlwind of both a stunned silence of what he should be and a deafening roar of what was going wrong.
He gripped his bed cover tightly and latched onto the sensation. The soft feel, the lines of the synth thread fiber.
He found familiar ground in it, and dove head first. The stale taste of scrubbed air. The smell of his bedroom after being away.
Gradually his vision began to clear and he could see the familiar sight of his messy room.
He was still here. He was still him. He was safe. He was different than he was before, sure. But he was still him and nothing would change that. No amount of implants or uncontrollable events would force him to be something else.
Not without a fight.
Those words stoked an ember in his chest, one that fed on the doubts and anxiety. Once his fighting spirit kicked in it all burned away in the face of his resolve.
He would always be him, no matter what was thrown at him. He wouldn't let anything take that fact from him.
Grey held himself in those thoughts for what could have been hours until the voice spoke again.
[Was this choice of action acceptable?]
What kind of question is that?
Acceptable? This thing had merged with him. He wasn't even sure what the hell that meant, but it had become part of him without his consent. Like some sort of parasite.
Grey wanted to tear the thing out and chuck it out the window.
But a different line of thinking took the reins.
"It was…acceptable."
Whatever this thing was, it kept him alive. It didn't seem like it had foul intent. It had saved him once by giving him a way out of the nest, again with his merging.
"Can you explain this merging thing you did?" He asked. He still had loose pieces of the puzzle to place.
[Merging Protocol. As dictated by Grand Designer Thorin, the Vessel merges with Pilot's biology. This process achieves a multitude of functions. Primarily a reinforcement of Pilot's physical and mental performance while reducing likelihood of Vessel being stolen from enemy forces, and several other functions.
In the case of Pilot's recent lethal damages, Vessel concluded that formal protocol regarding merging of Pilot and Vessel be omitted. Pilot's brainstem and heart had both been irreparably damaged, replacement with Vessel's components was the only viable action.]
"Is there a way to undo this merging thing? Y'know, get you out of me?"
[Negative. Vessel components have completely replaced Pilot's damaged organs. Removal of Vessel would result in the death of Pilot. Vessel protocol prohibits any action with this result.]
So this Vessel was now permanently linked to him and was responsible for, no, it was the implants inside of him. Its logic was sound, replacing broken parts to ensure survival.
But logic wasn't everything. It still took that choice from him. He swore someone would pay for that, and now he knew who did it. But how could he possibly exact vengeance on a piece of himself? Another problem without an obvious solution.
There were plenty of interesting tidbits of information for him to digest. Most would have no bearing on his current actions, so those would be set aside until he had a better idea of what was going on.
"How did I arrive at the hospital?"
[Pilot's injuries could not be fully repaired by Vessel, requiring action of an expert in Pilot's biology. Vessel consumed remaining energy to enact an emergency teleportation to nearest sign of civilization. Pilot was received by emergency personnel 3.1 miles from current city.]
And there it was. The final piece of the puzzle was put in place. A sense of joy filled a corner of his heart, but most of his mind was locked onto the next puzzle.
What did he do next?
There was still a lot to deal with regarding this Vessel thing. Someone may come looking for it, but that seemed unlikely, given how deeply buried it was.
There was Ters. He likely didn't even know Grey was alive, and he owed him a not insignificant amount of credits.
He could shift what to do with the Vessel into a long term and deal with the more pressing issue with Ters.
This Vessel wasn't trying to kill him, it had done the opposite twice now. And while he didn't trust it and was furious about the whole merging thing, there was nothing immediate to be done about it. Best not to linger on events he couldn't change.
He decided that he'd go see Ters in a few more days. He wasn't going to push himself with his body in this state and he was dead set on getting rough with the half mechanical bastard.
And during those days in between he could get some more answers out of the thing inside him.
"Alright. Since it seems like I'm stuck with you, we need to set a couple rules. First off," Grey clenched his fist, "You will not, ever, make a choice like this merging without my consent again. You will not replace parts of me with yourself. You will not violate the autonomy of my body, do you understand?"
[In life threatening event-]
"Do. You. Understand?" Grey growled. He would not accept anything but compliance on this.
[Affirmative.]
Grey felt the world around take a step back towards him as the connection with the Vessel was terminated.
It had closed the connection itself.
Which was more than fine with Grey. If he upset the damn thing, he didn't care. It may have saved him, but they weren't friends. It had violated his ability to choose and he would not forgive that easily.
The events of today, both physical and emotional, had taken quite a toll on his mind and body. As Grey settled in for what he felt would turn into a half day nap, he couldn't let go of one thought.
Just how smart is this thing if it could get upset?
He woke hours later, his body feeling perfectly fine. Until he tries to move
His strained muscles cried out in distress as he lifted to a sitting position and for a brief moment he reconsidered getting up at all. There was no one waiting on him. No jobs to be done. His top goal right now was to heal.
But the gnawing pain in his stomach demanded attention.
With a long groan, several popping joints, and tender steps, he made his way the cabinets set into the wall of his apartment. It didn't hold much, but even cheap cup ramen was good enough fuel.
As he ate his thoughts turned back to the Vessel and the things he learned last night. They turned to how their conversation ended and a small pang of guilt hit his heart.
"Hey, uh, Vessel?"
[Greetings, Pilot.]
"You said that this merging thing would improve me, right?"
[Affirmative.]
"How does that work? Do you refine my cells or something?"
[Biological improvements are the result of many factors. The refining of Pilot's cells in one such method, improving the DNA to be more effective and less likely to break down with significant aging. Other methods include augmenting Pilot's bio structure with Vessel hardware, leading to a more significant coexistence.]
The latter sounded like free implants, while the former was a treatment only the extremely wealthy could afford. It was certainly an interesting prospect. Grey had never been against the idea of implants. He'd been more than fine as he was for most of his life now, it had been more than a decade since he had wanted to really change who he was, and in the world he lived now, no one questioned when he did. After all, many people are certified cyborgs now. His transition wasn't anything notable.
But free tech? Maybe he could get something out of this after all. The Vessel had told him that removal was impossible due to the damage he suffered. He could get a new heart, it was expensive but possible. A brainstem would need a cybernetic replacement, and the cost of those was astronomical.
"I'm not letting you modify me further. I don't know what you are and I don't trust you." He began, "I don't have a choice about you being here, but I want to be in control of my own body."
[Command confirmed. Vessel will not modify or control Pilot's body without approval.]
He sighed, it his situation was far from perfect, but this Vessel seemed to be cooperative at the least. The best thing he could do is make use of it until he could afford cybernetics to replace it.
He could get a heart transplant, organics weren't really cheaper than they used to be. There was a larger supply of them since the invention of cybernetics, but they were always in demand for those that needed them. No self respecting doctor would put him on a transplant list while he had a perfectly functional implant. That left getting something artificial. Artificial meant expensive.
As for his brain stem…an artificial implant was the only option. He'd never heard of an organic replacement. Anything regarding the brain would cost more than just a pretty penny. He'd have to find a damn penny fashion model.
He had no clue how much this would ultimately cost him, thousands? Hundreds of thousands?
He rubbed his hands over his face. He really needed to get in touch with Ters, then find some jobs. He'd never earn that kind of money working freelance for local gangs. And he sure as hell wouldn't earn it by joining one. He'd have to up his game and start working for higher end private sector.
His future seemed like a mountain to him now. Everything he had to do to get his life back how he had it started to weigh on him, but he wasn't going to let it crush him. He breathed deep, gathering himself and imagined the heavy weight sliding off him as he exhaled. He would not be crushed but the weight of a mountain he was meant to scale. He would climb it, and it would bear his weight, not the other way around.
"So…Vessel." He called out to his forced partner. If he had a mountain to climb, he'd be a fool not to use whatever tool he had available. "Who, or what, are you?"
[Designated S#!?$+ by Grand Designer Arch. Vessel was created to xHemUy…]
The Vessel faded off into unintelligible static for several seconds.
[...of roundant forcicle ineplilon.]
What the fuck was that?
"I didn't understand a word of that."
[Vessel is…error. C-corrupted data found. Vessel is-is- obligate fortitude, alfvine enturan s-secula. M-m-mission: ...pilot….defend-d….convoy…j-journey.]
Grey could feel the Vessel through its connection. It seemed to thrash in turmoil over this corruption as it spoke what was pure nonsense to him for a few seconds, before the connection was suddenly severed and it fell silent.