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**Sombs** · 03-21-2023, 01:00 PM,

The atmosphere at the canteen suffered a sudden shift the moment one of the crew members pointed out that there was a Harvester on the feed, and everything quickly went from jovial breakfast gossip to stunned silence. Everyone had their eyes glued to the screens, except for one woman: Sherry. The moment she noticed the AI cruiser, she took a final, big sip from her coffee mug, placed it on the table and stood up. "Alright everyone. Action stations, go go go!"

Of course there was no way to be sure what was going to happen now, but everyone knew this was definitely the time to prepare for the worst case. On bridge, Ezrael sat in his command chair, leaning forward, pressing his fists against his lips. After three years of isolation, this was one of the most unsettling first encounters. His heart was beating faster. The Handsome Rover carefully moved closer to the Harvester, keeping just enough distance to be able to evade in case of a sudden reaction. The tense silence got interrupted when the bridge crew arrived right after Sherry, who quickly moved next to her Captain, taking her seat as the XO. "So much for not making a mess," she commented quietly.

"We have no idea where we are, who they belong to and what they are doing here," Ezrael mumbled with lowered voice, staring at the AI Cruiser. It was not moving or reacting. "We've been on good terms with PRIME and Canaan, but what are the chances of that thing knowing or respecting that."

"It seems inactive," the Commander pointed out. "Any comm signals?"

"Nope. Energy readings are minimal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's inactive." The Curacaoan took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his neck while glancing at Sherry for a second. "The high density of dust particles in this area means we can't cloak, and the many rocks could punch holes into the armor if she drop shields, meaning cloaking is out of question for now. We also don't know if more of them are around. If we get into a combat situation, we have only one chance at a blind jump out of this area, and that only if they don't use disruptors to stop us from jumping."

"If we were to run, it would be now or never," Sherry summarized, biting her lower lip. "Did you recall the other Rovers?"

"Yeah, they are already on their way back. It's only the Handsome Rover out there, keeping an eye on that thing." His breathing was unsteady. Sherry noticed that and placed her hand on his arm.

"Try to relax, Captain. I know it's been a while since our last battle," she said quietly. "Your crew needs a strong Captain now."

"If it comes to a combat situation, it's us, five drones, one gunboat and one freighter against that cruiser. We've upgraded the Apahanta for this kind of combat, and the environment is in our favor. If that thing tries to maintain its ideal firing distance, we can get one of those big rocks between us - that will either prolong the battle and give our shields time to recharge or force them to get into our ideal firing range. All in all, right now the odds are strongly in our favor," Ezrael explained, his voice less quiet now. "If the Apotheosis launches pulses from the distance and the Rovers move between us and the Harvester to mess with its targeting system, we might be able to get out of this without hull damage. Armor fatigue is definitely something I'd like to avoid."

"Hada, give me a tactical scan of that ship on the main screen. Try to identify the armaments as best as possible," Sherry commanded and stood up to take a few steps forward, to show more presence. Shortly afterwards, a list of the target's turrets appeared.

"Gammu plasma cannons, pulses, a mortar," Ezrael sounded quietly before joining Sherry. "Ranged loadout, ideal to harrass battleships. We'll need to get those rocks between us. We can dodge those weapons only in a chase situation, and I'm not going to let that thing force us out of the cover." Biting his cheek, he leaned over the railing separating the command area from the bridge officer posts. "Becky, relay standard hailing frequencies over your the Handsome Rover, tell it we come in peace, ask if it needs help. Hada, get ready to translate incoming text transmissions."

"We're more than 50 K away from it. If the Harvester decides to call for help, we can't jam it from here," Sherry pointed out quietly.

"We don't even know if it works on this particular Harvester," the Captain returned, kneading his upper lip with index finger and thumb. "If it fails, I don't want the Apahanta to be where any reinforcements would directly head to. Right now we can possibly outrun anything."

"True."

Silence. Seconds passed very slowly. The uncertainty of the Harvester's reaction caused everyone to tense up.

「 :: <request> [unit] "Handsome.Rover" identify :: 」

"Well, now we know it's active," Sherry commented, looking at the text displayed on the main screen.

Ezrael's glance dropped to the floor for a moment as his fang almost bit a wound into his lower lip. "Empathy had a more human approach in terms of communication. This one here reminds me of Progenitor. Could be a PRIME harvester. In that case, chances are this could go well. Becky, proceed. Tell it we come in peace and all that."

As Becky recorded a standard hailing message, Ezrael stared at the camera feed. The tension was almost unbearable.

「 :: <statement> [incidents] [defying_protocol] = #0 :: 」

The Captain and the Commander read the message and gave each other questioning looks. Then more appeared on screen.

「 :: <query> [reason] -> [presence] [unit] "Handsome.Rover" [?] :: 」

Becky leaned back in her chair and turned towards the Captain. Ezrael took a deep breath. "It wants to know why we are here." He narrowed his eyes, staring at the AI cruiser in the feed. "We need to be careful with our wording. Our answers need to be precise and not give away too much. I'd much rather ask the questions than answering them... Relay the following words, Becky: I have found you in a dormant state. Do you require assistance?" Nodding, Becky got back to work and sent the response in her own voice.

Once more, silence. Ezrael began to chew on his lower lip again. Everyone waited for the next response to occur. It took more than a minute, but eventually, the new response came in.

「 :: <request> [unit] "Handsome.Rover" transfer [fuel] :: 」

"It wants fuel," Ezrael translated, looking at Sherry. "That's why it's barely emitting any energy signatures. It's out of fuel and has no energy!"

"Don't rush to conclusions yet," Sherry responded, although feeling some level of relief. Ezrael was likely right, she thought, but it was best to be careful.

"Right. Becky, respond the following words: I have ten metric units of Deuterium. Can you convert this?"

"Ez, I think it would be better if we offered a trade for information instead of giving it free fuel," Sherry pointed out.

"We offered assistance, not a trade," Ezrael replied, sighing quietly. "If this thing remotely operates similarly to other PRIME units, it acknowledges that as a token of friendship. It's easier to share information with friends than with strangers, wouldn't you agree?"

"I hope you are right with this. Ten units of Deuterium hopefully aren't enough to get it combat ready," Sherry sounded quietly.

「 :: affirmative - {initiating} [fuel_transfer_protocol] :: 」

"Get slowly closer to the Harvester and drop ten units of Deuterium, Becky, and then move away from it. Let's see if it has enough energy to tractor the fuel in," Ezrael said and crossed his arms in anticipation. Becky followed the instructions and jettisoned the fuel beneath the Harvester. The feed showed that a lot of dust had covered the hull and the otherwise green lights were red. Threateningly red. The Handsome Rover quickly hurried away afterwards, keeping a distance of two kilometers.

A red glowing cone was emitted by the Harvester and longed for the fuel containers, dragging them closer to the ship. Some sort of hatch opened and devoured the containers, then closed. For a while, nothing happened. Then, the red glow of the lights on the AI Cruiser became stronger.

"Looks like it's processing it," Ezrael commented, taking another deep breath. "Becky, send another message. Does this prove to you that I am a friend?" And so she did.

「 :: affirmative :: 」

"Great, we made a friend," the Curacaoan said with a smirk, giving Becky a thumbs-up. "Now let's-"

"Captain, the AI cruiser just sent a strong distress call in all directions," Hada announced from the sensors console.

Ezrael lowered his gaze, exhaling audibly.

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