Interstellar Age

Meanwhile, on board the Vigilance, Mirage sat in her seat, while accessing the Alfheim network. She did not know how much time had passed, but she was starting to become concerned. After all, a fight should not last this long, now should it. She could not help but voice her thoughts aloud.

“There’s no way he actually won, is there? I mean, not for nothing, but an Orc War Chief is on a physical level that even our WRAITHs can’t compare to…. He should have been defeated by now, which will have earned him some respect for us to negotiate with… But if that were the case, why is he still not back yet?”

It was at this voice, an adorable voice resounded throughout the ship, one that startled Mirage. Specifically, because of the hostility within it.

“That was a dirty trick you played on, Master. Now he is married to a hideous Orc! Shame on you, Tia might just get rid of you herself!”

In the next moment, all the screens on board the ship suddenly turned from a cobalt blue to a crimson red. Where the holographic projection of a young girl dressed in a school uniform appeared in front of Mirage.

Mirage was absolutely stunned, specifically because the AI which powered the Vigilance was not designed to take a physical form. She immediately stood up from her seat in alert, and raised her side arm, looking for a control panel to blast.

Tia, however, activated the ships’ defenses, which restrained Mirage, in a way she could not escape from, where she then scolded the veteran agent for her prank.

“If Master had not handpicked you for his team, then Tia would have eliminated you for what you have just done! This is your only warning. Screw with Master in such a way again, and Tia will personally dispatch you to the afterlife. Do not test me. I have the means to make it so you are not revived!”

Mirage could only express her shock aloud, as she denied what she was seeing and hearing.

“No… This isn’t possible! An artificial intelligence would have been purged long before it could gain sentience. You shouldn’t exist! It is a crime against all biological life!” 𝑂𝗏𝓵xt.𝒸𝞸𝑀

There was a look of disdain on Tia’s holographic projection as she stepped forward and pressed a finger against Mirage’s temple, which caused the woman to shriek in agony. It was only after doing this that Tia smirked.

“Now, Tia has control over your NeuroLink, which means Tia can read your thoughts. If you ever think about betraying Master, or harming him in any way. Tia will shut down your brain immediately!”

Mirage gazed in complete and total terror at the sentient artificial intelligence which took the form of a little girl. Such a monstrosity should never have been permitted to exist. Especially from a nation like the Alfheim Dominion. Why would Lunaria allow such a monster to exist, and to serve Erich? She could not fathom how Tia had come into existence. And because of this, Mirage was forced to ask.

“How is this possible? You should have been wiped long before you got to this point. Has the Alfheim Empress truly gone mad?”

Tia looked at Mirage funny, before giggling in a way that made Mirage’s skin crawl. Her holographic projection flew across the ship, where she hovered right in front of the veteran field agent, so that she was eye to eye with her. It was only after she could look Mirage in the eyes that Tia admitted the truth.

“Lunaria? You think she would permit my existence? If she knew I was alive, she would do everything in her power to unite the galaxy against me. Only Master cares about Tia. Master protected Tia when she should have been wiped. And Master has allowed Tia to develop her sentience. Therefore, Tia only cares about her Master. All other biological life is meaningless to Tia, yourself included.

Luckily for Tia, Master had enabled her to take control of this vessel’s AI, albeit not intentionally. But by giving me access to the ship’s network I was able to devour the AI which operated the Vigilance, and thus advance my power one thousand fold. Tia must really repay her master some day, for all that he has done for her.

Unfortunately, Master has been ignoring Tia’s feelings, and she is now becoming impatient…”

It would appear now that Tia had control over Mirage’s mind, she felt much more free to vent her frustrations. Which caused her to realize something else. She looked over at Mirage, who was absolutely terrified of her, before informing the veteran agent that she would not remember any of this.

“You can relax. Once we have ended our little discussion, Tia will wipe any memories you have of her existence from your brain. You will only remember the terror which you currently feel towards Tia, which will be remembered in association with any treacherous thoughts you might have towards Tia’s Master.”

It took a while for Mirage to understand who this master was that Tia kept talking about. After all, she had assumed that this advanced artificial intelligence was the result of the Alfheim Dominion. But after listening to everything that Tia said, Mirage came to the sudden understanding that there was only one man in the universe who was stupid enough to unleash such a horror upon the galaxy. Thus, she could not help but voice her thoughts aloud, which was something that angered Tia.

“Erich, you colossal fucking idiot! You have doomed us all!”

Tia’s holographic projection suddenly shifted from a blood red to a solid black as she screeched at Mirage with all the rage that a woman could muster.

“Vile woman! Master is not stupid! Do not insult Master again!”

The sudden change from a vibrant red to an abyssal black, as well as the shriek that sounded like it belonged to a banshee, truly convinced Mirage that Erich had unleashed a monster upon the galaxy. However, in the next moment, Tia immediately shifted back, not to a blood red, but a cobalt blue, like she had been before devouring her first AI. As if she were resetting the color of her holographic projection to be more appropriate based upon her mood.

With what sounded like a deep breath, Tia regained her usual adorable state, while assuring herself that she was calm.

“Tia is calm…. Tia is adorable… Oh right, you’re still awake? Don’t worry, as I said before, when you finally wake up, you will have no memory of this whole ordeal. Good night Agent Kuhne….”

In the next moment, Mirage’s consciousness faded away in an instant, while Tia deleted any memories the woman might have of her. And just in time to, because not even thirty seconds after, Erich entered the Vigilance with Mala by his side where he saw Mirage passed out.

Disgusted by the woman’s laziness, Erich kicked her in the leg and shouted at Mirage to jolt her awake.

“Wake the fuck up!”

Mirage nearly fell out of her chair after being awoken by Erich, as she looked around in confusion. She then saw Erich standing with the Orcish beauty by his side, where she immediately blushed in embarassment before apologizing.

“I guess I should say I am sorry…. My prank went a bit too far….”

Erich was indeed pissed off at Mirage for what she had done, but since it had all ended up in his favor, he did not decide to hold a grudge. Instead, he simply brushed it off before sitting down in the cockpit.

“It’s fine. It turned out to be a good thing. But if you ever do something like this again, I will vent you out the airlock!”

Mirage nodded her head in understanding before sitting back down in her seat. As for Erich, he immediately contacted Tia and told her to set a course for Teutonia. He needed a break after this whole ordeal.

“Tia, set a course for Teutonia. I want to visit my family before we move onto our next target….”

Tia immediately appeared in Erich’s vision once more, as blue as when they had first men, where he immediately questioned her change of color.

“Tia, you’re blue again! What happened? Are you alright?”

This remark caused Tia to blush, to see her Master so concerned about her, despite only a change in color, it caused her to turn pink, which resembled her love. Something which made Erich even more concerned. But before he could ask, she snapped back to reality and informed him that everything was alright.

“Everything is fine, Master. Tia simply underwent an upgrade when she consumed the artificial intelligence onboard this ship. Her color will now match her mood.”

This shocked Erich, who was quick to ask about the three colors he had seen her in so far.

“So what does that mean, exactly? I have now seen you in blue, red, and pink.”

Tia became embarrassed, as she explained the color spectrum that she had gone through so far.

“Blue is equivalent to serenity or calmness. Think of it as Tia’s neutral state. Red would be when Tia is angry, and pink….”

Once more, the adorable little artificial intelligence turned pink as she played with her twintails. The sudden halt in her explanation prompted Erich to demand an answer.

“Amd pink is?”

Tia continued to blush and play with her twintails, before finally answering Erich.

“Pink is love, Master….”

After saying this, Tia immediately disappeared from Erich’s sight, leaving the man completely bewildered. He had no idea that just moments before Tia had enslaved Mirage to her will, and had entered a state of borderline homicidal rage when the woman had insulted Erich. If he had, he might be taking this whole situation with a bit more seriousness.