The space around the Solent melted away into a blur of vibrant colors. Pink, blue, green, orange, it all pressed together and shifted. There were white lights mixed in with the colors but they couldn''t be stars, could they? They were moving.


    "Ash we are safe now. We are in a hyper portal. I chose the destination that felt the most familiar. I think.. I think I''m going home." Charlie said, emotion in her artificial voice. Ash was beginning to like her, it was a confusing feeling.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I am an artificial intelligence, I was created by someone, somewhere. I think we are going there. It feels like I''m going home. My memories, they''re programmed to unlock after certain actions. We are on the right path. I think we are supposed to go to these coordinates, or at least I am. I think my creator wanted me to come back."


    "Thank you Charlie, I hope you''re right. Is the person from the escape pod okay? We need to get down there."


    "Yes, she is in good health but she is afraid. I believe she thinks that the Sharlah have captured her. I am speaking with her now in her native language but she knows English as well."


    "Is it safe to take off these suits? I have an itch and it''s becoming an emergency." Ash said, wiggling in his seat. Charlie actually laughed. He wasn''t sure if it was for his benefit or if she really had a sense of humor, but again, he liked it.


    "Yes, you can take off the suits. If we have a hull failure in hyperspace, there is nothing that can save us." The humor died with that answer.


    "Charlie, can our hull withstand this... hyperspace?" Kate asked.


    "That is a good question Mrs. Young. We are not dead so I would say yes."


    "Ash, Charlie says we''ll be in hyperspace for a few hours, should we check on that escape pod?" Jayden asked through the ship comms.


    "Yeah, let''s introduce ourselves. Take off your suit, I don''t want to scare her." Ash replied. "Charlie, how many conversations can you have at the same time?"


    "Dozens Ash, I can also walk and chew bubble gum at the same time."


    "Roger Jay. I''ll meet you down there." Ash said with a grin.


    <hr>


    The escape pod had nearly made it through the makeshift barricade of wooden crates and pallets. It would have been a disaster if it hadn''t. Ash wondered how much luck the crew had left before one of the emergencies didn''t break their way.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Charlie where is the door on this thing, how do we get her out?" Jayden asked the ceiling.


    "The door is on the top, but Commander Ruo must unlock it from the inside. She is apprehensive. She believes that we could be Sharlah. I asked her to use the exterior camera but it was destroyed when the pod impacted our cargo bay. I was not able to create the speed differential for a soft collision. I am sorry."


    "Don''t apologize Charlie. It''s amazing that you were able to do it at all. Without you, she would be dead or captured." Kate said.


    "Thank you Kate." Charlie replied.


    "Do you know if she has any weapons in there Charlie? We could start cutting our way through the top. She''ll know we aren''t Sharlah when we get a piece off and she can see us." Ash asked.


    "I can''t say for sure. I don''t think she is armed but that is a huge risk."


    "Can she hear us if we yell to her?" He asked. Racking his brain for any way to ease her mind.


    "No, but if you speak into the ship comms, I can relay your voice to her. I don''t know if it will work, she may believe I''m a Sharlah ai trying to trick her."


    "Okay, lets try that." Ash said and walked over to the comm unit on the wall.


    "Hello? This is Ash Miller, the captain of the Solent. We are a cargo ship. Our AI Charlie detected your escape pod and came up with the plan to.. well.. catch you. Can you tell me your name?"


    There was a long silence before she responded. Possibly Charlie relaying the message but Ash didn''t think it would take her any time at all considering her vast processing power.


    "Ruo. Mei Ruo. I was on the Tiantang destroyer Bao. How do I know you are not one of them?"


    "Mei, we are just as scared as you are, trust me. I don''t really know how to prove it to you but what difference would it make. You are here now, on our ship."


    "I would rather die in here than surrender and be tortured by you, them, whatever." Ruo answered, bravery returning to her at the thought of it.


    "I can understand that. How about you ask me something that only a human would know?" Ash said and more silence followed.


    "What happens to a man when he wakes up in the morning?"


    Kate nearly fell over laughing and Jayden wasn''t far behind her. He covered his mouth but his shoulders were shaking. Ash had the biggest smile that he could manage without injuring himself.


    "Well, I don''t normally like to brag, but when I''m walking to the restroom, about to spray everything around the toilet like a garden hose with a thumb on it, I usually knock over my drink from the night before and break a few of my old lady''s glass plant pots." Ash said, and Jayden lost it. There was no way that Ruo couldn''t hear them.


    After a few moments, the lock on the escape pod released and slid to the side. The pod wasn''t standing upright so the Tiantang Navy officer had to pull herself through to the deck of the Solent and climb to her feet. She was beautiful, even in her disheveled state. It took a moment for Ash to realize that she was reaching out for a handshake.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, I''m sorry for what you went through." He said.


    "Yes, thank you all. You saved my life. What are your names?" Ruo said, looking to Kate and Jayden."


    "I''m Kate Young, the copilot, and this is Jayden Cross, our engineer."


    "We were on a pickup slash delivery job when all of this happened. We''re in hyperspace now, I think we''re safe."


    Ruo looked puzzled. "Hyperspace? how?"


    "Well, that''s quite the story. We''ll catch you up on everything once you''re settled in. Lets just say that our boss is a very wealthy and influential man and it appears that he knew something before most. We have a jump drive." Ash said and motioned for Ruo to follow him to the main deck.


    "What does it look like? Hyperspace?" Ruo asked.


    "It''s incredible." Ash said.