Aurelia sighed as she lay under the blissfully soft covers of her more than firm bed, the pain in her thigh from a few days flaring up. It was uncomfortable, and would be considered a source of great pain if her body didn’t feel like it was on fire most days. She knew she could fix the various problems with her body, she had mastered nanotechnology by the age of sixteen after all, but she was always too busy with something else. Isobel, a genome, a wormhole generator, an atmosphere scrubber. Always something else.

Deciding she needed any distraction from her thoughts, she threw the covers off her scar-covered body and urged her body to move, to get out of bed. The scientist hissed through her teeth as her back went through the all too familiar sensation of a million needles pricking her every nerve.

Aurelia waddled awkwardly into the small bathroom to be greeted by her own visage in the mirror above the sink. She curled her scar-split lip at the image in disgust at the reflection, as had been her morning routine for decades. Her face relaxed, and she followed through with the rest of her routine: Brushing her teeth and sitting in the shower for thirty five minutes while listening to Knives in the Nation’s twelfth album, the best one if she was to be believed. She dressed herself in her usual casual attire and wore a lab coat over the top of it. Grabbing her can, she hobbled out and made her way to the workshop.

“Addison, is Isobel up?” The redhead inquired. She felt exhausted just thinking about the amount of effort it took to scrub Addison's servers. Whatever virus that was injected into the system, it was far more advanced than she could have predicted. While she wanted to indulge in the thought that her new additions would prevent it from happening again, the recent reality check proved that to be a foolish notion. Aurelia had been disconnected from the rest of the galaxy for over twenty years after all.

“As of right now, Isobel is in a sleep state. Shall I wake her up, young miss?” Addison responded. Aurelia chewed on the response for a moment before shaking her head.

“No, let her be.” Aurelia said as she continued onwards. Heavens above knows she needs it.

“Yes miss.” responded the assistant. As the redhead walked, the only sounds left were the crack of her cane hitting the solid floor, and the deafen sounds of her thoughts.

“Maybe it’s time to venture out” She muttered to herself. She dreaded the idea of going near the three ruling factions of the galaxy again, especially anywhere near the Guul Imperium. She didn’t want to keep Isobel locked up in a small cage on the edge of the galaxy. Despite her quiet mumbling, speakers popped around her. 

“Would you like me to run diagnostics on your ship, miss?” Addison chirped. The redhead sighed in resignation. She may as well if this was to be an option, and recent events have proven they aren’t exactly the safest here.

“Fine. Yes.” Said Aurelia simply. She figured if she was going to get her old ship moving, regardless of when, she may as well make sure it’s still in perfect condition.

She opened the door to her workshop and walked through. The organised chaos that was her primary workspace brought a sense of calmness to her. She sat down with a grumble at one of the holo terminals. She began typing away at the mechanical keyboard, bringing up a diagnostic of Addison's systems. It had concerned her greatly that something was able to pierce into her network even if it did seem to struggle to do so. The number of people capable of doing that was a very small list, as far as she knew at the very least. The scientist let out an exhausted sigh.

More work to worry about.

Aurelia continued her work in attempting to find the source of the virus, but little came to light. She considered making a trip to the ship of her assailant, which had since been scrubbed physically as well as digitally, but decided against it. She’d need another day or two for the nanites to finish their work on her thigh before she made any excursions outside of her home.

Frustration bubbled from within her after three hours of fruitless effort, she reclined back in her chair with a sigh that echoed in her workshop. One of Addison's silvery drones walked in on its digitigrade feet carrying a tray of food and a glass of juice. It placed it carefully down on the desk beside her, then moved gracefully to the edge of the room.

“You have not eaten anything since yesterday, miss, you should attempt to get some meat on those bones.” Addison chirped.

“Ah, trying to fatten me up before you take over the galaxy?” Said the redhead.

“Of course not, miss. I do not need to fatten you up before I enslave all meatbags. This is just to lower your guard beforehand.”

“Well it's working.” She said through a mouthful of finger food.

“Anything I can help with, young miss?” The assistant cheerfully asked. Aurelia wasn’t entirely sure what she could do at that moment, she could occupy herself with other things, sure, but she had this ball of anxiety growing larger in her chest.

“Have you noticed any irregularities in your programming?”

“None that I am aware of. I reverted back to a previous iteration from eight days ago and formatted the compromised iteration. Would you like me to run another diagnostic?”

Aurelia stared at her screen, rapidly scanning more lines of code. She shook her head and let out another loud sigh. She knew there was potentially nothing to find, though she knew that it was harder to find something when she didn’t know what that something was. The scientist felt more pangs of worry, considering that the breach could have been at any time beforehand, not knowing how far back it could go.

“Maybe I should contact They-Who-Peers-Beyond.” Shemused to herself. Aurelia didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of showing anyone else Addison’s source code, but she was running out of ideas and she knew that they would be able to offer more insight.

“Would you like me to send them a message, miss? You might be awkward about it since you are awful at conversion with organics.”

“Why did I program like this?” Aurelia said, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

“That is because you-”

“It was a rhetorical question.” The woman interrupted. She didn’t need this right now and desperately wanted to question the choices of her past self. “Run another scan of your subsystems, then give me a list of changes from three months ago to now.”

“Yes miss. Also, I would like to notify you that Miss Isobel has woken up. Would you like me to notify her of your whereabouts?” Said Addison

“Yeah. She could do with a checkup after… everything that happened..” Responded Aurelia. She pushed down the pang of guilt, having put her creation in such a difficult situation.

“She has been notified.”

Several minutes later, she heard the door to her workshop slide open and turned to face the encroaching  violet eyed android. Her synthetic skin had healed perfectly, something the scientist was grateful for.

“Hello Izzy. How are you feeling?” 

“I am still registering a dull pain under my face, as well as in my spine, but otherwise, I feel perfectly fine. Can’t say I am fond of this feeling.” Said the android as she sat down on the chair opposite her creator.

“You aren’t supposed to enjoy it. Pain is to prevent you from abusing your body much like you did.” Said the scientist as her eyes scanned the android carefully.

“I-I’m sorry I didn’t-” Isobel stammered.

“I’m not scolding you. You saved me. If you hadn’t come after me, I might not have woken up in time to defend myself and then be whisked away to who knows where.” Reassured the lithe woman with a slight smile. “I’m just an old worrywart.”

“Oh. RIght. You are welcome?” Said Isobel with uncertainty.

“So.” Aurelia said, changing the subject. “I was thinking of possibly heading into populated space. How does that sound?”

“I would love to see what’s out there!” The android said with excitement. Aurelia offered a nod to her.

“Well, Addison is currently running diagnostics on my ship. It hasn’t flown in years, so we need to make sure it’s still space-worthy.”

Isobel was bouncing with excitement. It had been nearly a month since her awakening, and all she had seen outside of her home was whatever she found on the GalNet. She had this urge to see what there was in person.

“Can I see your ship?” Asked the android. The scientist cocked and eyebrow.

“What do you mean? You have seen it.”

“I have?” Said Isobel with visible confusion.

“You live on it.” The scientist said with a smirk. Realisation dawned on the android.

“But this place is so big!” Isobel said as she sat forward, her eyes widening with eagerness.

“Well, yeah, this is a decommissioned Guul Dreadnaught. It’s over seven hundred metres long, three-fifty metres wide and one-eighty metres tall.” The scientist pursed her lips, attempting to rest the grin that desperately wanted to escape its confines.

“On the GalNet, I saw that civilians couldn’t own anything over a quarter of the size of this ship though.”

“Let's just say, I have earned a few privileges over my life. Had most of the weaponry removed and dismantled, then refurbished it for my more scientific endeavours.” Bragged the redhead. 

Aurelia let free her grin. There weren’t many things she was proud of in life, but gaining her current home was one of them. She reclined further in her chair and reminisced about the year she spent outfitting this ship, preparing all of her workshops and laboratories.

“It’s basically a science vessel at this stage, but I doubt any other science vessel has as many faculties as this ship does.” Said the scientist. “My ship has enough facilities to house a few hundred people to live and work on it, as well as more than enough space for recreation and more.” Isobel tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Why don’t you have more people here then? Surely they could help you?” She asked, getting a subtle sigh in response.

“Because I…” Aurelia trailed off, a frown forming on her brow. “I have my reasons.” She said dismissively as she cast her gaze aside. Isobel opened her mouth to speak before deciding better and shaking her head.

“W-well, I look forward to seeing what’s out there!” Said the android nervously. “When do we get to go?”

Aurelia sighed apologetically. “In about a week. I didn’t quite want to spring this on you, but I also have some business I need to attend to out in inhibited space. I’m not sure if you really need to do anything to prepare since we are taking home with us. Have you done much research on the intelligent species? They have many of their own customs that we will be expected to, at the very least, acknowledge.” She said. Isobel cast her violet gaze to the side.

“Uh, yes. I have done some… research.”

“Research is a weird way to to say-” Started Addison before the android yelped. Aurelia cocked an eyebrow and a knowing smile, gleefully watching the scene play out in front of her.

“Yes.l research. Anyway,” said Isobel, desperate to change the subject. She sat back in her chair and hunched a little bit, as if to make herself appear smaller, and action that earned a raised eyebrow from her creator. “I wanted to learn to paint, and perhaps eventually paint my room. Would that be okay?

Aurelia eyed the android up and down, and eventually gave her a thoughtful nod. “Yes, that is more than fine. My artistic talent extends only to my blueprints, so I don’t exactly have the supplies you will need. We can buy some when we get to one of the larger stations on our little trip.”

The android bounced in her seat, clearly unable to contain her excitement. Aurelia felt a sense of pride welling up in her, one she had not felt in decades. She let her mind wander, thinking of all the possibilities that her creation could experience. She’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t worried for her creation, as it was a very harsh galaxy out there.

But it couldn’t hurt to let her stay naive for just a bit longer, could it?

Anxiety gnawed away at the idea of her creation leaving the nest, an alien feeling considering she had never felt like this before. She only had a few childless - and loveless -  marriages in her life, and never really wanted the messy little creatures wandering around her workspaces.

Not that I’d subject a child to me. I’d be an awful parent.

Once she’d spent enough time in her own head, and searching for something that may not exist in her most trusted assistant code, she finally decided to listen to the searing pain that was all too familiar throughout her body.

“Right.” Said the redhead, pushing on her knees as she struggled to get up. “I’m going to lie down for a few hours.” She said with clear exhaustion in her voice.

The android beamed with a smile and a nod.

“Yes! I am going to explore the facility for a while. Want me to cook dinner for us tonight? There’s a recipe that I saw that-” Isobel gushed with enthusiasm.

“Sure, whatever is fine. I’m not picky.” The scientist said, dismissing with a noncommittal wave. The android deflated slightly in her chair, but nodded all the same.

Once the scientist had left, Isobel sat in the workshop alone with her thoughts. She sat back further in the plush chair, letting her heavy form sink into the cushioning. She didn’t really understand why Aurelia needed so much rest. After her awakening, she was told she had been awake for thirty eight hours by the artificial assistant, and thus had made the assumption her creator didn’t need much sleep.

“Addison?” Isobel asked as she stared at the perfectly clean ceiling.

“Yes Isobel? How may I assist?” Chirped the TOMAI over the intercom.

Isobel hesitated for a moment, she wasn’t sure if it was her business to know. A few weeks earlier she had asked any question with abandon, but after asking about that photo beside her creator's bed, it was something she’d taken the hint on. She let out an unnecessary sigh and subtly shook her head to herself.

“Could you guide me through the parts of this place I haven’t seen yet?” She finally answered.

“Of course.”