Select an item to bond with

Once again, he closed his eyes and extended his senses. He knew that if he wanted to, he could bond with any technological item on board: the anti-grav lift, Bulco’s exoskeleton, or even his Puncher. But he skipped all those options and thought bigger. An image of the excavator flashed in his mind and he sensed that if he wanted to, he could turn it into an extension of his body. But again, he extended his senses. Further than the excavator. Bigger.

The ship.

Unity.

Unknowingly, his friends had selected the perfect name for her, perfect for what he was about to do.

Bonding.

Unity.

It was so fitting; there was no question in his mind. The Tec still called for him, but he was confident he could resist their lure.

He made his selection.

The floor shifting under him was the last conscious thought that ran through his mind before he drifted into oblivion.

16 - Synthesis

“What the hell is going on?” Bulco shouted, jumping to his feet.

The thin partitions around the other two beds lowered to the floor, revealing Lana and Nori. They were both wide awake and alert.

Unity shuddered again and everyone wobbled to their feet, then their eyes found Nathan’s unconscious body.

“Nathan!” Lana shouted.

The floor under the young man shifted. Tiles of thin metal plates spread over his body, covering him in a cocoon of metal.

“Nathan, no!” Lana reached him just as the last plate was starting to cover his face. She grabbed it, trying to pry it open but the insistent metal nearly cut off her fingers.

“Move, girl!” Bulco pushed her aside, his MAT augmentation tool was already deployed. Two plier-like appendages extended from his shoulders and grabbed a plate. The Engineer pulled, his exoskeleton humming loudly as it tried to lend it enough strength to rip apart the unyielding metal.

“It’s not working!” Lana shrieked. “The ship is eating him.”

True enough, despite Bulco’s best effort to slow it down, the Nathan-shaped bulge was slowly sinking. The ship shuddered again, Nori cursed, Lana screamed, and Nathan disappeared, leaving behind a perfectly smooth looking floor.

“Nathan!” Lana shrieked.

“What the hell’s going on?” Bulco panted from the effort.

Nori straightened up. “To the bridge, quickly. Lana, run a sensor sweep, I’ll check the ship’s status. Hurry.”

They ran to the bridge. Lana threw herself onto the chair before it even finished fully forming and started to madly tap on her light console.

“What the hell?”

“What the crap?”

The two women said in unison. Bulco frowned as he instantly spotted the subject of their bewilderment.

It was on every monitor in the ship. They were all showing the same message.

Synthesis progression 1%

“What does it mean?” Lana asked, her face pale.

Nori narrowed her eyes, deep in thought.

“Why would the ship swallow him like that?” the Expert demanded.