Well, I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews of chapter 1. I didn't know I was that talented… but I hope chapter 2 will measure up.
Chapter 2: Apocryphal Hope
Hope, one of the crowning jewels of humanity's emotional array, something they feel is necessary for any sentient life. It serves as a weapon of unlimited potential, giving any person the will to drive on, to continue fighting when it seems like all is lost. Sometimes, the outcome of a seemingly doomed situation can be something completely different, simply because one person refuses to give up hope. But this can also be a weakness, for when everything has perished, false hope can take effect; the hope that things will turn out alright, however nightmarish the situation is. This can be torture; false hope can destroy a person by causing them to pursue a goal long past failure, and wind up worsening the situation and causing even more pain to themselves and those around them.
With this in mind, KOS-MOS indulged in the incredibly human emotion; "Maybe she survived…" She wiped the tear away, sat up in her chair and continued reading. After the primary article it went on to ship schematics, statistics and even the colossal debt attached to Mathews. It continued on, but it didn't confirm or deny Shion's demise. After an eternity, she finally encountered the truth that shattered the last vestiges of hope remaining within her, the crew manifest. Through the Elsa's historic career its crew changed many times aside for Captain Mathews, Navigator Hammer and Pilot Tony. When the Robot Academy moved onboard the Elsa, Professor Haksheen White and his assistant, Scott became permanent members of the crew. The troupe changed again after the Collapse, when they set off for their ill fated journey to try and locate Lost Jerusalem. Mary and Shelly Godwin, Gaignun Kukai Jr., Shion Uzuki and Allen Ridgeley all joined the crew. They traveled for only three years before tragedy befell them. Shion was stabbed through the chest by an assailant unknown, not a month after she had wedded Allen Ridgeley, but only hours before the ship's premature destruction. Having no logical hope left, KOS-MOS fell back in her seat as her eyes swelled, one tear fell, followed by another. I should have been there… I could have saved them. If only I could go back… Realizing that the only way to fix it, would be the impossible, KOS-MOS buried her face in her hands and began to cry. Her weeping however were interrupted by a communications signal. She answered, but Ryan's voice provided little comfort.
"Hey, I forgot to unlock the seal on your manifest, so I'll come over there and do it, kay?"
KOS-MOS didn't want to say anything because of her shaky voice and her recent tears, but she needed to read the manifest. She covered up her quivering voice marvelously, but certainly not well enough. "Alright."
"Is something wrong?"
She quickly analyzed a number of responses, but right now, she cared little for what he thought. "It's none of your concern."
"Okay…"
The three sided polygon blazed an ivory flash, and Ryan Wells materialized with an emerald holo-pad in hand. He shifted his head towards KOS-MOS, but received a view of her azure hair and back; she was facing the computer as if she hadn't even noticed his entry. He doesn't need to see me like this. Ryan sauntered over, and placed the holo-pad parallel to the equally phantasmal holo-screen, causing them to merge. An orange window appeared saying 'unlocked', and faded to a jade color, with an image of KOS-MOS up in the top right corner.
"There you go!"
KOS-MOS didn't respond, she didn't want him to look at her, but she failed to realize that this was more conspicuous than if she had merely said 'thanks.' Ryan finally turned his head towards her, at KOS-MOS's dread. His face betrayed his concern after seeing her moist face and swollen eyes, something that she wanted to avoid entirely.
"What's wrong?"
KOS-MOS could here the compassion in his voice, but still didn't want to say anything, he turned her head away, but she slipped; "I…"
Ryan grabbed the chair from the other side of the table, pulled it to within a foot of KOS-MOS, and sat down. "Your friend didn't meet the fate you had hoped, huh."
He certainly is intuitive. Perhaps… She slowly turned her head back towards him, keeping her sight low, until she looked up into Ryan's knowing eyes. "Shion… she was my creator, and my closest friend. It was part of my original programming to protect her at all costs… I rescued her so many times, but, it was all in vain. While I slumbered in deep space, she…." Another tear found its way out of her eye. KOS-MOS reached to wipe it, but Ryan caught it before her, and cleared it away. She was startled, but pleased at his reaction… No one's done that before, but, I've never cried before either.
Ryan's head sank for a moment, and then he looked back up into her curious but hurting rose colored eyes. "I know what it's like to lose a loved one… to be unable to help. My home world was destroyed by the Remnant, my entire family, and my beloved… gone."
"I've never had a family… only my friends." KOS-MOS stood up, and slowly made her way back over to the window. Folding her arms, she once again let the surreal scenery captivate her. This time however, she noticed the impending doom of the elegant world below. That nebula… it was created by a supernova, only a few hundred years ago. The nebula continues to expand, it will eventually envelope this entire star system. The gravity of this world will attract billions of tons of hydrogen and space dust, eventually crushing the planet. "I was built as a weapon, but I couldn't even protect those that I love."
Ryan had slipped right up beside KOS-MOS. He placed a caring arm around her shoulder, and moved closer. "You can't blame yourself, you can't protect everyone."
Why is he doing this? As confused as she was, she couldn't deny the comfort of his warmth. "Then what purpose do I serve now? Am I merely a weapon to destroy?"
"Perhaps, but if that's all you are, then wouldn't your friends have used you as one?"
"Does it matter now? They're all gone."
"You willing to make new friends?"
"I…" KOS-MOS was baffled by this statement, she would never have imagined making new friends, it was strange. She leaned in towards Ryan, and focused on the scenery once again. She realized something new again; Even though that world is doomed, it will collect enough gas to compress the core, and eventually start fusion, resulting in a star. When this happens, what started off as a planet, will transform into something a billion times as radiant and powerful. But reality smashed her in the face. What am I doing, I only met Ryan hours ago. I can't trust him. Shion's always told me what to do and who to trust, how can I trust someone I know almost nothing about? She wrenched herself out of Ryan's grasp, and stayed facing the window a few feet away from him. "I should read the manifest…"
Discouraged, but taking the hint, Ryan sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you later?"
KOS-MOS didn't respond.
"Uh… yeah." His form was whisked away by the fantastic ghost known as teleportation.
KOS-MOS took a deep breath. I can't get attached to someone new… not someone I have just met. Regardless… no one will ever be as important to me as Shion. Shion… another tear took form, and ran down her cheek, as if trying to escape her sorrow. She let this one go. Why did I let that one fall? I don't know... But once it had dripped onto the floor, she wiped the trail off her skin… Flesh... something so new to me… I wish… I could embrace Shion… her warmth… feel it for once, the same way that she could feel mine, and I wouldn't be just a cold machine to her... but that won't happen. I better make use of the now, like I said to Ryan, I should read the manifest. She slowly stepped back towards the dismal grey chair, sat down and stared at the screen. The document was enormous, at least a million words. KOS-MOS got started.
It was all very bizarre, for she knew the human physiology well, but to read about her own systems in a biological sense, it was alien to her. As she read, she realized how much stronger she was now. She reached a section containing statistics, and was amazed. She could apply five hundred kilograms of pressure per square centimeter of grip at maximum. Her new body was now capable of punching with a force of eleven metric tons of pressure per square centimeter. 2 She was down right shocked at the force she could deliver at maximum with a standard round house kick; sixty tons per square centimeter. 3 My internal skeleton must be incredible if it can deliver blows of this magnitude without it buckling. Eventually she got to her weapon manifest, which intrigued her further. She saw details on power output, usage and other such on all the weapons Ryan had mentioned, but there were some others that were entirely new. Perhaps he was merely outlining the weapon upgrades I had received, leaving out the new systems. KOS-MOS discovered that she had a concussion generator within her, it could emit a compression wave strong enough to disintegrate a person at point blank range and its effective radius was one hundred meters before the wave degenerates into a gust of air. Another was her cannon's beam variant. It could fire a starship grade piercing beam at the target, easily able to vaporize most metals without difficulty. Next was her Hilbert Effect; at ultra wide range, KOS-MOS could materialize all Gnosis within 1 million kilometers, without an amplifier. 4 I thought that the Gnosis had all been taken by Nephilim? I'll have to ask Ryan…
The most interesting section of the document was also the largest. Nanobots. They composed thirty percent of her blood, and are capable of reconstructing cells at an astonishing rate. Her regenerative capabilities are almost on par with Albedo's, even if she couldn't restore limbs. But the nanobots serve so much more of a purpose then just a healing factor. As she read on, KOS-MOS discovered just how reliant on these little machines she was. The oxygen and nutrients her cells require is thousands of times higher then that of a human's, a quota far higher then a standard circulatory system could even dream of fulfilling. Her blood was one hundred times as efficient as regular red blood cells, but that still leaves her at a dramatic loss. The nanites make up for the difference by functioning as super powered hemoglobin. I see why Ryan told me not to use any of my advanced combat systems until I had fully adapted to my new body. If I over worked myself and consumed to much energy, the nanites would lose power and shut down, putting me into shock, and possibly death. Almost excited by her new capabilities, she momentarily forgot about her tragedy.
That didn't last long however. KOS-MOS once again remembered Shion; This doesn't seem real… it seems like she's still alive somehow. I'd always started up when Shion was in danger… the first time I awoke was to save her. Why didn't I start up as I always had? I should have awakened, I would have awakened if she had been in danger, she can't be dead. Shion must still be alive. KOS-MOS gained a glimmer of hope, but a futile one. She realized how impractical false hope was; her logical nature slaughtered the hope mercilessly. It has been thirty-two hundred years. She would have died three thousand, fifty years ago from old age, based on average life expectancy from the time. Even if she had survived the destruction of the Elsa, Shion would still have been dead for over three thousand years.
KOS-MOS felt drained, thus her first instinct was to recharge. However she quickly realized that she must actually sleep, rather then power down and plug herself in. She got to her feet once again, and gingerly walked over to the bland grey bed. She removed her wrist bound blade coverings, her head gear. Next were her black gloves, then her boots, followed by her body suit. Not having undergarments, she climbed into the cold hard bed, completely exposed. Removing her outfit was something else foreign to her. Previously it had been part of her exo-skeleton, but now she appeared completely anatomically correct, almost human. She placed her head on the soft maverick pillow, and tried to sleep, but again, she had never even imagined how to fall asleep on her own. How does one fall asleep? There is no deactivation code, nor a power down command. She lied there for some time, before her thoughts drifted to the images she had scene before she awakened earlier that day. The destruction of the Elsa was burned into her memory, and it began to haunt her thoughts. For at least an hour, she just laid there, dwelling on the nightmare. She played it through her head again and agian, from the Elsa's burning hulk to the fiery explosion, just before she awoke to see Ryan. Ryan Wells… perhaps a new friend wouldn't be quite as bad as I thought... With the lingering thought of a new friend, KOS-MOS coasted of into the unconscious.