ByteMe: Ezra be careful. they’re all over the ship, whole sections are blinking in and out. i don’t know what AIDAN will do next.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: jesus, this is the AI?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: it let these psychos out? honestly, what the fuck?

ByteMe: i don’t know. it did it on purpose. it wiped out your command before they could turn it off. it got Byron. it got everyone who could stop it. i don’t think i can do it from here, on my own, but if u can get somewhere safe i can try and get help over there somehow

Mason, E, LT 2nd: holy shit. torrence is dead? what about sanchez? myles?

ByteMe: i don’t know. Torrence is gone. most of them are gone. i don’t know why it isn’t opening the door on u now, except maybe Byron managed to hurt it before it got him. u need to be somewhere you can operate manually, somewhere it can’t open the doors. this is important. tell your friend to find you somewhere u can lock by hand.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: we jammed the doors shut. gonna move through the air vents i think.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: but they smart. and moving in packs. we got two pistols between us but its like they dont’ even feel the bullets. fuckers won’t go down unless you hit em dead center. and gunshots just bring more of em

Mason, E, LT 2nd: so ya, my day’s ultra chill, sweetie, how’s yours?

ByteMe: sweetie? u don’t get to pull that shit even now, my love

ByteMe: ok looking at schematics, munitions is a good bet, ur friend is right. i’ll figure something out over here, i’ll shut down the fucking Hypatia if that’s what it takes to get them to pay attention to u.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: jesus

Mason, E, LT 2nd: this is bad isn’t it?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: like, as opposed to good

ByteMe: ur alive, we’re not done until i say so. is there a way to talk to me from munitions? any kind of comscreen?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: i got a portable terminal. not sure hwo long battery will last. if it chokes i’ll find something else

ByteMe: shut the portable terminal down and save some juice.

ByteMe: and if any motherfucker tries coming NEAR you, shoot him in the face

Mason, E, LT 2nd: kady

Mason, E, LT 2nd: what if it’s someone i know?

Mason, E, LT 2nd: i think i saw bradley carpenter in the group that hit the hangar bay. u remember him? year above us at McCaffrey. geeball player.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: he was carrying a fire axe in each hand.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: painted red to his elbows

Mason, E, LT 2nd: jesus christ …

ByteMe: that’s not bradley anymore. if it’s someone u know, u do it just the same.

Mason, E, LT 2nd: but what if

Mason, E, LT 2nd: fk

Mason, E, LT 2nd: thy @ doorss

Mason, E, LT 2nd: gtta go

Mason, E, LT 2nd: ard6kxyfmhn

ByteMe: i love you

ByteMe: RUN

RADIO MESSAGE: COMMAND CHANNEL HYPATIA

Participants: Syra Boll, Captain, Hypatia (Acting)

Ronan Wells, 2nd Navigator, Hypatia

Date: 07/30/75

Timestamp: 11:44

Boll, S, Capt: Ronan, engineering are reporting Alexander’s main engine just went offline. Can you confirm?

Wells, R: Give me a minute.

Wells, R: Affirmative, Captain. Alexander main drive is powering down.

Wells, R: Secondary engines are still functional, however.

Boll, S, Capt: Can you tell what caused the outage?

Wells, R: … This is strange, Captain.

Boll, S, Capt: Report.

Wells, R: I’m reading intermittent system failures throughout the entire battlecarrier. Power. Peripherals. It’s like the Alexander is pitching a fit.

Boll, S, Capt: Are its weapons systems online?

Wells, R: Negative, Captain. Not that I can see.

Boll, S, Capt: Ronan, I want you to plot a course away from the Alexander. Keep us on a heading for the Heimdall waypoint, but I want some serious distance between us and that battlecarrier, ASAP. Confirm?

Wells, R: We’re leaving them? But they just—

Boll, S, Capt: Lieutenant, the Alexander’s command staff are dead.

Wells, R: What the he—

Boll, S, Capt: The Alexander’s AI has gone haywire, Ronan. Everyone on that ship is dead or dying.

Wells, R: Jesus. But … Carrie and Tomo were on—

Boll, S, Capt: Ronan, listen to me. We have over two thousand people aboard Hypatia. The AI destroyed the Copernicus. It’s gutted its own crew. Whatever is happening with its systems over there, I do NOT want us to be anywhere nearby when it gets its shit together.

Wells, R: You’re asking me to leave them all behind. To leave my friends behind.

Boll, S, Capt: I’m not asking, Ronan.

Wells, R: But what about when the Lincoln gets its drives back online? They’ll still be following us.

Boll, S, Capt: With any luck, they’ll zero on the Alexander instead of Hypatia. Alexander has the guns, it’s the bigger threat. Maybe we can outrun the Lincoln.

Wells, R: But what about—

Boll, S, Capt: Get us out of here now. That’s an order.

Wells, R: Syra—

Boll, S, Capt: RONAN, THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER.

Wells, R: …

Wells, R: Roger that, Captain.

Wells, R: Setting course 451:098:786 to take us half an AU from Alexander.

Wells, R: From there we’ll proceed toward the Heimdall waypoint on …

Wells, R: What the … ?

Boll, S, Capt: What?

Boll, S, Capt: Don’t fucking “what the” me, Wells. What’s going on?

Wells, R: I thought you said everyone on Alexander was dead.