The three headed jackal.

[Dave Synk]

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The work lights from Hangar 18 felt like they shook the air itself when they got turned on. The switches echoed and quickly filled the emptiness of the room, as power lines hummed and slow vibrations came into a steady rhythm. There, in the middle of the hangar, a cloaked figure of an old ship, enveloped in a plastic heavy blanket, was gathering dust.

Engineers assisted with drones started to take down the material and revealed an old Anubis model. Wrecked by the testament of time and usage. Dave came along and inspected the vehicle. His steps were slow but steady, almost anxious, like meeting someone dear to him for the first time. But perhaps it was more than that, it was a window to a time long gone. The vessel was sturdy as ever but, pieces of its hull were missing exposing the internal circuitry and various components. Some even looking like they had extensive damage.

He got close and on its port side, near the wing, he noticed the almost scratched off emblem of his old group, Cerberus. He placed his hand on and a light smile emerged. The engineers took their time too, observing Synk, some perking an eyebrow in curiosity some not really caring that much, as for them it was just another ship. But for Dave, that ship once was the spear point of an idea. Of advancement and reach beyond the human limit. A dream that was struck and crushed by the ignorance of the Order, at that time.

He took his personal PDA and scanned the emblem like making a record of it. Perhaps just as a memory or a reminder to who he was.

"Clear this as well. This symbol means nothing more today. It is the symbol of daring and aspiration. But it is also of failure. Retrofit the ship and replace what you can with our technology, it's almost a decade old, it's obsolete in all means. But keep the computer intact and the AI's mainframe. Those are vital."

Dave left and observed in silence from a higher platform. He watched how the engineers began to tear it piece by piece and built upon the foundation of what the Anubis already had. It was after all, even for this time, still a relevant piece of technology. As history said, it was by design to destroy the threat of the Nomad during their invasion decades ago.

The electronics were entirely replaced, as the cockpit was re-worked to have the comfort level of the Nightjars. Perhaps some extra touch of elegancy for a Venator. One engineer came with several propulsion quirks to Synk asking for his insight about the balance and what weight-balance proportions to keep. Synk went to work alongside the engineers for several hours, not just oversighting but working side by side. He took the navigation array to upgrade and update it to the latest cartographic schemas about the current locations of the sector.

The sub-light's compartment was slightly enlarged to fit the more aggressive and responding AUX engines. That also required adapting the fuel manifolds and connectors to the power reactor which started to raise more problems. As they worked on the vessel, the damaged components seemed to be critical in their placement. As the working crew looked for alternatives to replace the said missing parts, especially the Power Core's couplings and sockets and one particular device that was specific to the Anubis, the adaptive synchronous engine booster, that without, despite adjusting the engine chamber to house an AUX-sized one, the device was key to link it to the entire power system. Without it, the vessel had nothing special, hence why the fast manoeuvering in combat situations.

As they reached an impas in their retrofitting, Synk told the crew a few tales form his Order era. And how apparently some refugees, or survivors from when the organization was disbanded, managed to come in contact with the crashed relic, that was the Anubis on a remote planet in one of the Omicron systems. They hauled it hoping to find clues for Synk's whereabouts, but they left and hid for a few years somewhere in Sirius, until they made contact with the Technocracy.

As Synk dismissed the crew for the time being and thanked for their work, he went inside the refitted cockpit and booted the computer which was still a heavy work. The power battery attached to it gave it enough juice to boot it up and the first thing he saw was again the Cerberus logo spinning and got into the system. When he looked over the last logs he noticed some names that were not among him anymore, Beckz, Neumann and Aubrey. At the last one he stopped. He accessed the ship's interaction with that name only to see a record, a very old one, broken and corrupted of him talking to his old friend Jack, in a training session somewhere in Order space. Jack told him:

"Good shots kid, but you need a little bit more work on your timing, let's get to the Terminus for operation brief. We're headed for an incursion in Delta..."

He chose another log and looked through. This time was Dave, alone logging an entry.

"Aubrey made me Major! I can't believe that from a boring lab rat that was at Sunderland, I made it... here? This is nuts right? These people, they all appreciate me for what I know, for real. Not like the corporate bastards which.. sent me on hauling... trade lane parts. 'Oh you know, propulsion? Good. Deliver parts.'... assholes. But these guys are great. And Cerberus. Fighting for humanity! This... is it!"

The log ended abruptly as was called out.

He made a couple of more reads through some old text entries that his former self did. He laughed on some and considered how naive and young he was. How he had no idea what came forward. He then found an old photo of his old Cerberus mates and some other Order wings that got lost in the passage of time themselves. At the bottom of the photo it read.. "The three headed Jackal, Omicron Mu, 811 A.S."

He then left its cockpit and while on his way to his desk, he took a glimpse one more time from the upper platform.

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Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
- Sovereign