As he made his way along the by-now-familiar route toward the ship’s bridge, he had occasion to avoid other entities, but only mechanicals. Some types he recognized from previous encounters as belonging to the vessel’s complement. Others that were unfamiliar to him had doubtless recently arrived on the golem ship. The automatons from both vessels mixed freely and without any visible electronic acrimony. This was to be expected, as they shared the same origin. Only recently had those intrinsic to the craft he and his companions were on been diverted from their original assigned duties. All were once again under the control of their builders.

What he did not see as he increased his pace were any organics. No A'jeii, no Olone, and certainly no Kaijank. Perhaps they had been confined to their own living quarters or sequestered (under guard?) in another area of the ship. Though there was no reason for him to be worried about the fate of his former captors he could not keep from doing so. It was his nature. Compassion had been built into him by his upbringing and he could not simply discard it no matter how outlandish the circumstances and his surroundings.

While the absence of the A'jeii and others from the corridors was disconcerting, the emptiness of the multi-story bridge was even more so. The three levels were deserted except for a few mechanicals that scarcely moved. Each individual device had established itself at a particular station. Silent and intent on their tasks, they did not look up at his entrance.

Jakob Zimmer did. Standing before a trio of automatons, the senior scientist looked in Dev’s direction as the younger man arrived. Looked, and smiled.

“Dev! I thought you would rest while waiting for me to return and report.”

Slowing as he approached, Dev kept a wary eye on the three mechanicals. Two were identical. Composed of a seamless flow of green and gray metal or ceramic, they stood motionless in place. Leaning slightly down and to one side, he saw that they appeared to rest atop a circle of some thin transparent material. Though this glistened with the luster of clear jelly it was plainly composed of something far stronger though just as flexible. Some kind of frictionless plastic or gel, he decided. About halfway up, the cylindrical body began to taper to a conical shape. At the top, a horizontal disc of gleaming red surveyed and appraised its surroundings. Dev thought the device looked appropriately golem-like.

The third member of the mechanical group was the martial behemoth that had originally greeted them after porting over from the second ship. Though Dev felt that Zimmer was standing a little too close to the three machines that virtually surrounded him, he did not remark on what seemed a proximity bordering on the reckless.