"So, is your dad nice?" asked Bianka.

"He is," was Rory's reply.

The minute Flame had left, Bianka had decided to question his son on who he was, how he acted, etc. Of course, as the Commander had only left a minute ago, she ahdn't gotten far.

"...So, why is he on Chiron?"

"To help advance civilization. He wants to make life better for everyone. Though, he isn't going to make it any easier. There's a difference."

"I know. So...I'm not sure how to say this without being rude, but...what...is...he?"

"...I'm not exactly sure there's an easy way to describe it, but you could say he is something less than human, but also something more."

"What does that mean?"

Rory's response was to pull up a hologram of a giant robot. Bianka remembered that it had been the first indication of his arrival on Chiron, and had created several colossal buildings in a matter of minutes. Scientists had been baffled at how it could do this, ultimately chalking it up to hyper-advanced nanotechnology. Not that Bianka cared, of course. Those subjects were too advanced and grown-up to be of interest to a girl just entering her teens.

"So, you see this?"

"Yes, I do. I assume your father is the pilot of that machine?"

"Not exactly."

Bianka raised an eyebrow at that, and unnoticed to anyone watching them, so did the other children in the infirmary.

"He isn't so much the pilot of the machine, but rather, he is the machine."

"...What?"

"You know what neural uploading is, right?"

'Yes, I do,' thought Bianka. It'd been the pet project of all of Chiron's cybernetics fans, being able to transfer a human mind into a computer, but until recently, it'd been just a dream. last year, however, it'd finally become a reality, primarily due to the actions of the Slavic Federation. Besides offering the potential for immortality, something man had long wished to achieve, this technology had myriad other uses. The only one that had been of interest as of late, though, had been military. Who could forget the might ANGEL, taller than a skyscraper, controlled by human minds uploaded into their processors. Such a machine was a costly investment, but capable of destroying an entire army, given the chance. Of course, only two existed at the moment, and they hardly ever went out of their home bases, even for parades-losing them would be a crushing blow.

"I do."

"Well, my dad had his mind uploaded into the Commander."

"I see. So, is the body I saw is real body or just a really well designed android?"

"Both at the same time."

"...What?"

Instantly, Rory's expression changed to one that was dead serious. The nearby Wolf-Beetle instantly tensed up.

"Promise me that you will tell no one about what you are about to hear."

"Whwhwhwh-"

"Not even my dad."

"Whwhwhwhw-I promise.

"Are you serious?"

"YES!"

"Okay. My dad...didn't have a choice about being put in the Commander."

"...huh?"

"Look, someone put him in it. They just plucked him out of his life, put his brain into the commander and dropped it on some random planet. They told him to go out and find any technology he wanted, but he was to be entertainment for them."

"...who told you this?"

"An AI called Ouium. He's charged with managing the Ectogenesis Pods on this ship. My dad's body was grown from one of those pods and is based on an approximation of what he originally looked like, plus a few traits he wanted added in. Apparently, I was grown in one of those pods, with many traits taken from his genome. So, even though I don't have a mom, I'm still his son."

"I see...you're being awfully forward about this."

"Better to tell you about it now than let it come up at a bad time."

"True...do you have any proof of this?"

The hologram disappeared as the emitter traded places with a sort of pedestal like machine, which, after a moment, created a swirling light above its base.

"This is a portal that, according to my dad's kidnapper, let's him travel across universes. You can stick your head through it and you'll end up on a planet covered in machinery."

Unsure what to do, but willing to take the benefit of the doubt from this boy, Bianka shoved her head into the portal. On the other side, she saw a planet made of metal, filled with strange, cybernetic creatures, all going about their daily lives in much the same way the inhabitants of Chiron did. A pinch to her cheek confirmed this was no illusion. Wary of keeping her head on the alien world for too long, Bianka pulled her head out of the portal. Though she was still not entirely convinced, she was willing to offer more credence to the possibility that Rory was being serious, and her friends were willing to share that trust.

The perks of having a psychic hive mind were very nice, indeed.

"Do you believe me now?" asked Rory.

"Somewhat. At the very least, you have some evidence that you are right." 'Of course, that could have just been a giant hologram.'

"I appreciated your trust in me."

"You're welcome. Though, I have to know, did your dad say that you could tell us about this?"

"No. I just felt that you deserved to know."

"Well, thank you for the trust. Though, I must ask, why did Ouium tell you this?"

"I believed the boy had the right to know the truth," responded a computerized male voice, causing the female orphan to jump. "Also, I apologize for scaring you."

"Apologies accepted." 'Well, that could've gone better.' "...Are me, Rory, his dad and my friends the only humans here? Wherever here is?"

"No, there are other humans here. You should've seen them when you were being moved here."

'Yeah, I did. Can't believe I forgot.' "I did. Are there any others besides them?"

"Well, there are my dad's advisors: Fide, Kathikon, and Synais. I can introduce thme to you if you'd like."

"It's fine."

"Okay. Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Just one: What happen's next? I mean, if me and my friends accept his offer?"

"You will be naturalized as citizens of this nation, given schooling, and we will attempt to procure someone to help you master your psionic skills."

"...There are people who could teach me to control my gift?"

"Yes, they just don't want to come out of hiding yet."

"I see."

Silence filled the room. Unknown to Rory and Ouium, Bianka and her friends had begun to discuss the pros and cons of accepting the Commander's offer. True, they would be at his mercy, but he seemed nice. His son had also been open to them about his motives, something they had not expected. The would never have to worry about being kidnapped again, so that was a plus. Finally, they had the unprecedented opportunity to see other worlds if they allowed the Commander to adopt them.

Ultimately, a consensus was reached.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

CRACK

BANG

"Direct hit" noted the mechanical voice.

Well, that was the third one in a row.

Since Bianka had needed time to mull over my offer, I'd decided to start messing around with the weapons technology I'd acquired. True, I didn't need to use guns, since my bots could handle any threat that came my way, but hey, shooting things is a great stress reliever. At least, as long as they aren't alive. So I'd gone to a firing range, pulled up a couple of guns from all designs on the planet, and started shooting. I'd had to adjust the sights a few times, but eventually, I was using each of the guns like a pro. My three shot streak had been with the last of the weapons I was testing, a hybrid laser/plasma rifle made by combining Supremacy and Harmony tech. watching it burn/melt targets was awesome.

"Attention Commander Flame, Bianka would like to speak with you over the intercom."

Well, that was unexpected. "Put her on the system."

"Understood," replied the program. Soon, I could hear Bianka talking over the intercom.

"Um, Mr. Flame? We've made our decision."

That was fast-wait, did she just say we?!

"We?"

"Me and my friends are all psychic, and we can share thoughts over a distance. We're still close enough to do that at the moment."

"I see." Well, I needed to find out more about their powers. Some harmless, non-invasive examinations would do. I was NOT going to put them through whatever the Blind Eyes had planned for them. "What is your decision?"

"We have decided to accept your offer. We'd like to live with you."

Well, that was easier than I thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review. Again, criticism is appreciated.

Also, Ouium is just as loyal to Flame as Fide, Kathikon and Synais are, but he tends to act on what he thinks will have the bast outcome, instead of what exactly Flame orders him to do. To be fair, Flame doesn't normally give him orders, so he has a lot of freedom to begin with. The same can be said of Rory.

This is Flameal15k, signing off!