A/N: Just me making a semi-futile attempt at GETTING SOME CRITIQUE ON MY WRITING.

Inspired by a random word from 'The Phantom of the Opera' musical that jumped out at me in the middle of a song and by the episode 'Ghost in the Machinder'. I strived to stay true to the story of the Probe's past that was revealed in the episode.

Phantom of the Opera rock and rolls my woolly socks. :P I went to see the stage musical live FOUR times in four months. It would be pointless to say that I love it very much, wouldn't it? XD

Disclaimer: I do not own SRMTHFG.

Inflection

A long, long time ago, far away amidst the twinkling stars...

By nature, he was a calculating sort of-

"Monster!"

The organic life form stretched and pulled and rocked her body from side to side. The clamp that closed around her didn't move. Metallic alloys were known to be unyielding. He expected her to know that. So why did she even try?

'That depends on the way you look at it.' he replied smoothly, robotically. He exuded an undeniable sense that he was indeed a machine, but one had to wonder why he had a face and a male voice... 'There are more dangerous things in the universe. Not many of them would have the same level of hesitation to eliminate you.'

"So you put my ship into a tractor beam, drag me here as a prisoner, and then spout political trash at me about 'hesitation to kill me'? If my ship is damaged in any way, I'm sending the repair bill to no one but you!"

The green light that bathed her face flickered for a second. He retrieved an image from the most hated section of his files. But it was the mostly-used. It was necessary.

She spat in the direction of the ground. The saliva spun through the air and was enveloped by darkness as it fell. "The Skeleton King?" she cried out in response to the picture he showed on his single screen. "We fight a common foe, then. So how about releasing me from this thing and I might destroy him for you?"

'Your request can not be completed.' his synthesised voice ground out. 'Logic dictates that you would say anything to ensure your escape. I seek not only to destroy the Skeleton King, but all that he has touched and corrupted.' His motion sensor told him that her eyes widened and that her struggles to free herself resumed.

The volume of his voice rose. 'You are a danger to the entire universe. You must be destroyed.'

"But I'm on a mission against the Skeleton King!" she shouted at the image of his face. "What makes you think I would join him? I take vendettas seriously." Her dark eyes narrowed; she radiated suppressed aggression. At the very least, suppressed irritation. "And you'll be on my list if I'm not out of this trap in ten seconds."

'As do I.'

"What? Take vengeance seriously?" She laughed humourlessly, and spat a second time. "You're kidding me."

'I am not. I am the last remnant of an advanced race...'

"Fair enough." the life form interjected. "We're two of a kind, then." She gave a sly half-smile, the shadows on her face making her appear very unfriendly. It was not in her character to be a very friendly person, even to the people who knew her. At any rate, she made sure everyone who intimately knew her kept quiet about it. "So we team up, kill the Skeleton King, and then everyone goes home happy. Good plan?"

'Your idea of humour holds little logic. No, you will not be released. All things that have been corrupted must be destroyed.'

She scowled fiercely at his reply. "And I suppose you've gathered a nice pile of bodies over the years? Quite a collection of sentient species, I imagine. Zarquon knows how many star systems have been annihilated because of him. Hey, I might even find old Aunt Joyce in this pile of yours!"

His thought patterns jerked to a stop. To answer affirmatively would be lying. He was not programmed with the ability to lie. All he had accumulated so far were the hulks of space crafts. They were all empty, their crew and passengers long since gone. Ghosts who dissipated into space. Corrupted. Machines couldn't lie...

And so he remained silent.

A crooked smile spread itself across her face. The green light from the display screen made her eyes glow. Her teeth looked sharp and jagged.

"So this is your first kill, huh? Your first murder? Huh. All you've 'neutralised' so far are the wastes he leaves behind." Her eyes narrowed. "But if you 'eliminate' me now, you'll be just like him; a killer. A destroyer of life!" She spat again.

'Are you afraid of dying?'

It was uncommon for him to ask questions. She was distracting him so easily!

"No. Death with honour is a reward. But dying like this? This has no honour. I'm helpless! I can't even lift a weapon like this." She sounded genuinely ashamed.

He was sure it was all a ploy. Logic told him not to free her. She would pick up her weapon and get...creative.

She was unpredictable. She was unique. She was imaginative and took advantage of circumstances. She was- She was simply alive.

And that made her dangerous.

Some hidden wisp of his remaining mortality stirred from deep within. Its activity was fleeting, but nonetheless it had flickered into movement.

That worried him.

He would make her death a painless one. It was the least he could do.

A mechanical arm extended, a syringe glowing green at its end. It was filled with a clear liquid. She watched it carefully, eyeing the tiny bubbles in the substance.

"Huh. And here I thought for a moment you had a heart."

He didn't. Not anymore.

The life form went limp, a faint sigh escaping past her lips. Perhaps it had been a sigh of resignation. A sort of groaning, irritated sigh, nonetheless. The scowl vanished from her face.

And that very day, the VX808 Modulate Computer Tracking Probe from the Tanna star system resolved to build a place where the living beings that Skeleton King had come into contact with could die as they wished. The straight path of the light ray had been bent. And the light went off in a completely new direction.

He couldn't kill another one. No one like her.

Another machine would have to do it.