Chapter 96-Called her by name

Chapter 96: 96-Called her by name

The first thing Aymara did after returning to the control room was check the time, the second thing she did was check the food and the third thing she did was glare at the system.

"System, tell me exactly how long my dinner has been sitting there."

[Your meal has been waiting for thirty-seven minutes.]

Aymara closed her eyes. Thirty-seven minutes! She had spent thirty-seven precious minutes dealing with pirates, rescuing suspicious survivors, and discovering that someone in the middle of an apocalypse had apparently decided to make her the target of a manhunt.

’What an eventful evening!’ She cursed internally.

"Wonderful," she muttered. "Absolutely wonderful. At this rate, I’ll die of starvation before a mutant gets the chance to eat me."

The system remained silent during her rant. "Don’t you have anything comforting to say?" She asked.

[Your current nutritional intake is insufficient for optimal performance.]

[If host continues to miss food like this. Hoe is host supposed to grow?]

Aymara opened her eyes. She paused and looked up at the floating blue screen. She regretted having asked the system for it’s opinion. How could she be do foolish.

[Host, beloved hasn’t eaten yet either. What are you complaining about?]

"Whose side are you on?" She asked before the system found something else to add.

[My primary function is to ensure your survival.]

"Then let me be in peace!"

[System function is non-existent]

[I am not programmed to give host peace. Command not registered.]

Aymara stared at the screen with killing intent. Somehow, she doubted it understood anything but was confident it understood everything.

"If you don’t let me be in peace then I’ll trouble beloved until he jumps off the ship!" She warned.

There was a brief silence before the system responded.

[Host, Don’t act rashly. This humble system will leave you alone.]

Aymara smiled in satisfaction. It had already learnt the system’s weakness and was starting to figure out the cheat. Though she’s the one who got the system, it was somehow programmed to hold Nathaniel’s wellbeing and survival as a priority.

Perhaps the force that gave her a second chance did so out of pity for her situation and as a means of better survival for Nathaniel who showed up to save her, only to end up dying beside her.

Maybe it saw his sacrifice and decided to give them both a second chance and see if the story would end differently. Either way, it paid to have one more force out there looking out for Nathaniel.

She turned toward the main monitor, where the location of the unidentified vessel blinked on the digital map. It was twelve point six kilometers away.

The vessel had remained stationary since the system detected its signal. No identification code had been transmitted, and its communication channel was silent. Whoever was aboard knew how to hide.

Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with someone who had spent her second life preparing for the apocalypse.

"System, zoom in on the vessel’s location. Use every available surveillance method."

[Command confirmed.]

The map expanded and Aymara leaned forward for a better look. The ocean was dark, and the surrounding waters were littered with the remains of ships that had been abandoned during the first days of the apocalypse. Satellite coverage was unreliable, and the system’s long-range sensors were still recovering from the earlier attacks.

Nevertheless, a faint outline gradually emerged on the screen. A ship, a large one. It wasn’t a fishing boat or a survivor’s makeshift vessel. Its structure suggested a military-grade patrol ship, although several modifications had been made to its exterior.

The hull was painted black with no national flag was visible, no identification markings could be found and its weapons systems appeared to be inactive.

Aymara tapped the screen with caution playing on her face,"That’s suspicious."

[Agreed. The vessel’s configuration does not correspond to the standard civilian maritime database.]

"Can you identify the owner?"

[Unable to determine ownership.]

"Any crew movements?"

[Multiple heat signatures detected aboard the vessel.]

Aymara counted the indicators as it scanned the heat signatures inside the ship. Ten, twenty...thirty all the way to forty and her smile disappeared.

There were far too many people aboard for a simple surveillance mission and she had grown too cautious not to have that number raise alarms in her head.

"How many in total?"

[Preliminary estimate: Forty-three individuals.]

Aymara sat back and stared at the numbers. There was forty-three people in an unidentified vessel, a message ordering pirates to bring her back alive and Celyn who claimed the pirates had been working for someone else.

She rubbed her forehead. "Why can’t people simply mind their own business?"

The control room offered no answer to her question at all. Aymara stood, irritation building up inside her at how much attention she was attracting even in the middle of the ocean with 90% of the world drowned in water.

"Keep tracking them. If they move, I want to know before they finish turning their ship."

[Command confirmed, host]

She was halfway to the door when the system spoke again.

[Additional alert.]

Aymara stopped in her tracks and turned back feeling a strong headache coming on. Instead of the peaceful days aboard her fortress she had envisioned, it was one alert after another, keeping her on her toes.

"What now?"

[An encrypted transmission is being received from the unidentified vessel.]

She turned around so quickly that her hair swept across her shoulder. "Put it through."

The speakers crackled. A man’s voice filled the room, it was quiet and calm like still waters.

"To the captain of the cruise ship."

Aymara raised an eyebrow. "I’m listening."

There was a brief silence and then the man continued talking. "We know you destroyed the pirate vessel. We also know you rescued three survivors from the wreckage."

Aymara smiled faintly. "Congratulations. Your eyes work."

The man ignored her sarcasm."We have no intention of fighting you. We simply want to discuss a matter of mutual interest."

"Really? Because the last person who wanted to discuss something with me sent an entire pirate crew to blow up my ship."

"Those men were acting independently."

Aymara laughed."Of course they were. It’snot like you would tell me if they weren’t. Would you?"

"We can offer you supplies, fuel, medical equipment, and protection."

"Protection?" she repeated like a ridiculous joke she’d heard. As for everything they offered, she had plenty of those aboard her fortress and in her space, she didn’t need more at current.

"Your vessel has impressive defensive capabilities, but no ship can survive indefinitely without replenishment. We can provide resources that would be difficult to obtain in the current circumstances."

Aymara glanced at the weapons display. The stranger had a point as even the most heavily fortified vessel had limitations. Ammunition would eventually run out, machinery would require maintenance, and certain supplies could not be manufactured indefinitely but that didn’t mean she was foolish enough to accept a suspicious stranger’s offer.

"What exactly do you want in return?" She played along, being careful, she didn’t reveal the unlimited resources she had.

The man hesitated for a moment before he spoke, "An opportunity to meet you."

"That’s it?"

"That’s it."

Aymara leaned against the console. "Then you’ve wasted your time. I’m not interested."

"Miss Ellington, you haven’t even heard our proposal."

Her smile vanished, the man had just called her by name. Not the captain and not the owner of the cruise ship but Miss Ellington. He knew exactly who she was.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We can discuss that when we meet."

"Wrong answer." She declared. Aymara reached toward the control panel. "System, terminate the transmission and block the originating channel."