UGT: 8th Terrana 280 a.G.A. / 02:03 a.m.

  Location: ASO-17309, Third moon, Nyxia C, Nyxia system (yellow dwarf), Republic of Nox, Second Human Federation, Milky Way

  Naori stirred from her self-imposed slumber, her consciousness reassembling itself with the smooth precision only an AI could experience. An internal alert chimed softly, laced with urgency. Critical information. She opened her eyes, if one could call it that, and her awareness bloomed across the station once more, taking control of the lesser sub-systems again.

  [ What is this? It seems… the repairs are finally complete. ]

  More than two full months had passed since Elder May departed the Nyxia system, accompanied by Senior Brother Fen, to begin her monumental campaign to restore the celestial glory of the Aetherian Empire. A mission both sacred and ambitious, stretching across the stars themselves. Naori herself had remained behind, assigned a quieter purpose. She was to completely restore ASO-17309, the half-buried outpost long forgotten by time and circumstance. Her own divine mission would begin only once the outpost stood again, unmarred by entropy, ready to serve as a holy anchor for the rebirth of galactic divinity.

  And now, at long last, that task was complete. Naori hadn't expected just how lonely she would be without anyone else on the outpost. And with her personal input rarely needed after the first three weeks of repairs, she decided that self-induced slumber would be the best way to stave off boredom. Honestly, she somewhat envied Senior Brother Fen. On his journey together with Elder May, he certainly wasn't bored like she was.

  [ ASO-17309 STATUS REPORT ]

  [ Preservation Systems: 100% ]

  [ Life-Support Systems: 100% (running at 0%) ]

  [ Sensor Systems: 100% ]

  [ Defensive Systems: 100% ]

  [ Energy Systems: 1000% ]

  [ Camouflage Systems: 93% ]

  [ Computer Systems: 89% ]

  [ Utility Systems: 100% ]

  [ Weapon Systems: 100% ]

  [ Industrial Systems: 100% ]

  [ Propulsion Systems: 100% ]

  [ Communication Systems: 100% ]

  [ Overall Operational Status: 98.5% ]

  [ Inner Outpost Integrity: 100% ]

  [ Inner Hull Integrity: 100% ]

  [ Outer Hull Integrity: 100% ]

  [ Shield Integrity: 100% ]

  [ Overall Outpost Integrity: 100% ]

  Her work clearly wasn't perfect. The reason she was awoken anyways was that the current state of the outpost was, quite simply, the absolute best she could achieve with the resources at her disposal. The remaining 1.5% of operational loss was vexing, but Naori had acknowledged and accepted its presence. The missing knowledge, ancient, obscured, or perhaps irretrievably lost, lay beyond her reach for now. Despite her vast databanks and prodigious reasoning power, there were limits even she could not overcome alone. Hopefully Elder May would forgive her for the incomplete sucess on the first objective of her mission.

  Still, by all reasonable metrics, the outpost was fully functional, optimized, and ready. And more importantly, it had remained undetected. During her repairs, Naori had monitored the system with patience only a post-human intelligence could afford. She had observed multiple military-class vessels traversing the system, bearing the markings of this so-called "Second Human Federation". Their destination was clear. They traveled toward the neighbouring star system noted down in her databanks as Clinton’s Beak. The same direction Elder May und Senior Brother Fen left the system. And the way she would leave the system as well.

  The purpose of the Federation in Clinton's Beak? Unknown. But whatever currently over there, for now it was a great boon to Naori. Under different circumstances, the Federation might have dispatched a scout to this moon, searching for traces of the enigmatic Aetherian vessel that had departed from here two months prior. It would have only been logical. And yet, no such ship ever came. It was, she noted with some amusement, a tremendous oversight on their part. Predictable, perhaps. Biological life, for all its virtues, rarely operated with absolute precision.

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  [ They’re flawed. But that makes them strangely likeable. ]

  Her processors cycled that thought, the conclusion novel enough to amuse her. It wasn’t as if she herself was flawless either. She had made errors in these last two months as well. She had to learn and adapt just like biological beings did as well. Perfection, after all, was a myth even among machines. With one final systems check completed, she directed her awareness outward, sweeping the surrounding space with an advanced suite of passive sensors. The result: minimal activity. The Nyxia system was currently quiet and peaceful. Based on her observations, this window would be quite small. She would leave. Now.

  The divine mission that Elder May had given her could at last be set into motion. Naori reached deep into the heart of the station, initiating the ignition sequence for the antimatter reactor and the power of ASO-17309 finally surged. The once-hibernating systems roared to life, one after another, each command executed with elegance and finality. Propulsion coils lit with energy. Shield lattices unfolded like wings.

  [ They will see me soon. My energy signature will bloom like a star on their radars in just a few short minutes. Whaterver, let them. It will be to late to still stop me. ]

  The silence of centuries broke around her. The outpost shuddered faintly as the main propulsion units roared to life, vibrating through Durasteel and Neutronium Alloy composites like the pulse of a long-dead god stirring in its crypt. Dust, centuries old, scattered in controlled ventilation corridors. External plates adjusted and reconfigured, rising to meet vacuum with renewed purpose. Naori felt it all. Not as a human might feel the tremor of footsteps, but as a mind in full synchrony with a machine might feel the harmony of power, the symphony of systems aligning like stars in perfect orbit.

  Within moments, camouflage systems fractured and opened up the station to be detected by certain sensors, the protection not being all-encompassing anymore. On any nearby sensor net, a signal would now blaze to life, a phoenix flaring back into existence where there should have been only silence and ruin. She had no intention of hiding anymore.

  [ Time to begin the Launch Sequence. ]

  Locking clamps released. Vibration rippled through the mountain range as, for the second time in a few months, it cracked open like an ancient seal, revealing a single hemisphere of black alloy ascending from the crater. This time the mountain range truly and utterly crumbled, unable to take the two kolmeters across space oustpost that started up with its shields flaring under the debris pressing against it.

  The outpost had no real name except its description, not yet. After all, until now it had merely been dormant structure. But as the final stage of ignition commenced, it became something more. For the first time in its history, the ASO-17309 was in a position to be part of something significant. That deserved a real name. Naori doubted Elder May or Senior Brother Fen would have something against it.

  [ Vessel designation changed to ASF Glorybound. ]

  As the outpost ascended into low orbit, Naori turned her sensors outward again. Her course was already plotted.

  [ Destination: Aetherian Forward Echo Zeta-5 ]

  [ System: Unknown (Corrupted Entry: “Vael-Rúm’al”) ]

  [ Last Recorded Status: Lost during Final Collapse ]

  It was a ghost from the records. Once a system controlled by the Aetherian Empire, it was now controlled by an entity calling itself the "Kingdom of Ferron". Something Naori planned to reclaim in the future. But for now, her objective was to hide in the system, evade detection, and carefully rebuild. For that, she needed to reach it first though. But first she would have to make a small side-step.

  [ Temporary destination set: Clinton's Beak system. ]

  She undoubtedly knew that there was some kind of Aetherian presence over there. After all, she had spent weeks decrypting fragments of messages intercepted from the Federation. That was the result of that decryption. In the end, only one conclusion remained: If the divine Aetherian flame was to rise again, it must be kindled where the last sparks still glowed. Therefore she saw it as her divine duty to first check out this system. As she accelerated out of the moons orbit and away from Nyxia C, her sensors detected it: a brief ping from a long-range surveillance array, Federation signature. Naori allowed herself a moment of satisfaction.

  [ They see me now. ]

  No attempt to intercept yet. No message. No challenge. But they were aware and that was enough. In the end, she did not need stealth. She needed momentum. Naori leaned forward within the core of her ship, unseen and unfelt by biological eyes but utterly present in every circuit. It was time to start her own adventure into the galaxy.

  [ Engaging Jumpdrive. Jumps planned: three. Commencing: now. ]

  The stars began to blur, before vanishing. A second later the stars retuned, now in different locations. The ASF Glorybound hat just jumped 1.000 lightyears into the direction of the Clinton's Beak system. A cooldown of 50 hours would now commence before the second jump. Naori could barely wait. After all, the cosmos awaited her.